Hi
Sorry for not replying sooner, but please follow my advice.
Before you go to the police you must go and see a solicitor and get them to go along to the interview with you. You absolutely need legal advice because depending on the evidence, then they may pr may not have enough to prosecute you.
Secondly you need to take advice about what you should or should not say plus how best to deal with the interview.
If you do not see a solicitor then its likely you will lose any chance of preventing this going further. What I think will happen is that you will go along panic and wnat to get out of the interview as soon as possible so they will offer you the option of accepting a caution and you will take it, but that is an admission of guilt and a criminal record.
That means it will be on your record and you are duty bound to inform the course organisers who are then duty bound to review whether you are fit and proper to be allowed to do the course. It would be best to avoid his if you can, so dont sleepwalk into trouble.
You can then take it from there depending on whether you have a caution or not.
On the basis of your argument to the police that you have ha drink and mental health issues that might help you escape prosecution, but in turn it may call into question your fitness to do the course above and beyond the actual criminal record, so it need to be handled carefully.
The panel basically review the facts of the case plus listen to what you have to say to decide if you are suitable for a nursing course. Theft is a crime of dishonesty so you will have to show that despite doing it you are still suitable and it was a one off. We can go into how you might construct a narrative later, but for now just go and see a lawyer. You can get the meeting with the police rescheduled till after youve seen a lawyer as long as they know.
You can find a criminal lawyer from here
Its in your interests to do so.
http://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/search/results?Pro=False&UmbrellaLegalIssue=LIUCRM&LegalIssue=LICRL&Language=