Postgrad study isn't funded in the same way as undergrad so you wouldn't be entitled to funding through Sudent Finance Firect I'm afraid. Many postgrads rely on savings or work part time. You could also look into getting a career development loan (which most banks offer I think) or taking the course part time. Other than that as the previous reply said it is possible to funding though a body like the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) or the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) (depending on your discipline), but these are competitive and normally linked to a PhD track masters (i.e. 1+3).

Have you looked at the possibility of getting funding for the duration of your studies. In the social sciences the ESRC offers an untaxed award of just under £13k (with the possibility of more depending on your area), plus tuition and a small training allowance. I guess its similar for the arts; try the AHRC website. ESRC funding can also be linked to a masters degree at certain universities.

I'm afraid I can't speak from an engineering background; however, I don't actually have any A-Levels at all. I do have qualifications gained part-time whilst working after leaving school at 16. This got me into a fairly poorly ranked Uni (not entirely dissimilar to London South Bank in terms of profile I would guess) as an undergrad; this in turn got me onto a self-funded Masters at a decent Russell Group Uni and I've recently been offered funding (albeit via another Masters) at another decent Russell Group Uni (in a top rated department).

I'd concentrate your efforts on getting a first (or as high a grade as you can) now, rather than worrying about qualifications that you've done previously. Also, as Thecoastman says, you may find that when you decide what you want to specialise in that the top departments, centers, etc. may be at places you didn't expect. I'd recommend waiting until you have a reasonably solid idea about what you want to do (unless you do now) and then testing the water by emailing some academics in your field to see what they think; I'd guess they'd either say go for it straight away, or advise you to do a Masters first. They probably won't ask you about your A-levels though.

Good luck.

Drew, If you're clear about wanting to do a PhD afterwards an MRes is probably better as it's more research oriented. However, it depends on what area you're interested in. An ESRC recognised MA/MSc would make it much easier in terms of gaining funding for a PhD and can also sort funding for the Masters; if you're looking at starting in 2009 this might be the best option: funding has closed for this year. You'd need to have a decent idea of a research question if you want to follow this route. If your area is more philosophical then you might want to look at the AHRC and how they provide funding; I've just been through the ESRC process but don't know much about the AHRC. So in answer to your question it depends if the MA/MSc is research council recognised. I'm not sure how much weight is ascribed to an MRes though.