GCSEs, AS results and extenuating circumstances.

When I was younger I got very badly bullied and so went into alternative education. This resulted in me coming out with only 2 GCSEs among other qualifications which all add up to the equivalent of 7. I have English A* and Maths C (which I am re-taking), this year I did Biology GCSE and get my results Thursday (I did very well in my ISA and January exam). Please note that I have never failed a GCSE, I've simply only had the opportunity to take 3.

This year I fell very ill during the exam period and didn't walk for 5 weeks. I took my exams in a very comatosed state due to very strong pain relief and I was in a wheelchair throughout. I got BBCCD (one of the Cs is CT and completely worthless), my D is due to one module going very badly which I am going to re-take and I'm also re-taking a module from one of my Cs because I was very close to a B.

I am from a non-science background and so am intending to apply for a preclinical year. I know it would be ridiculous to apply for medicine outright, but assuming I got 3 As at A2 and got a distinction in my preclinical year, do you think they would look past my lack of GCSEs and take my extenuating circumstances into account?

Your situation is quite unusual, so it would be difficult for any of us to give you reliable advice on here. I think you need to be researching foundation years carefully and speaking directly to the universities you're interested in to discuss your circumstances. At the moment, harsh though it may seem, there is no evidence for them so far that you can achieve AAA at A2 and/or cope with a medical course - this may be a problem for them, but there may be ways around it. You will also still need the usual work experience, volunteering etc - have you got any of that yet?

Good luck!