Medicine Help!!

Hi everyone! I am in need of some advice regarding my career path and thought where better to do it than here.

I am in Year 12, the first year of A-Level and am studying Math's, Biology and Chemistry. Very original, I know ;D

If I'm being honest, I did not get very good grades at GCSE.
Math's- 6
English Lang- 8
English Lit-8
Biology- 6
Physics-6
Chemistry-5
Religious Studies- 8
French- 7

The grade I am most worried about is my Chemistry grade. As we all know, Chemistry is the most important science to get into medicine. Most Med School's I've seen require at least a 6 and the field of medicine itself is extremely competitive and I'm sure people my age going for it have got 8s and 9s.

I am not one for making excuses, but a reason I got bad grades was because I did not study year 10 (because of personal problems) and had to retake a year. I will also admit that I am an extreme procrastinator and in my whole life have not studied properly. I got these grades with little to no revision as you can tell.

But now, my lethargic attitude has lead me to a very difficult position. I am motivated to work hard and get the best grades in my A-Levels, but I'm worried it is still not enough because of my GCSE's. I was thinking of retaking my Chemistry GCSE in order to get at least a 6 or 7.

A little side note, I have started my work experience a year ago and have applied to get into a hospital to volunteer, so I'm hoping that will make my application look better.

I am extremely anxious that I won't be able to get into medicine so any advice for me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Your grades are not as bad as you think, getting a 6 in bio or getting 8s in both english gcses is actually a pretty epic achievement, and the fact that you are working hard towards medicine shows you are trying your best and I'm sure you will be able to get the career you want to.

Although gcse's will be referred to, I think that a level grades would be noticed more as well as how you do in terms of other things, like work experience, supercurriculars and wider reading/voluntary participation. If you want, you can retake gcse chemistry, however make sure you have done your research into which medical schools you want to go to and their requirements to study the course. Remember that although grades are important for medicine, they pay attention to what you have done outside of it too, so keep trying to participate in as much as you can.

Please also don't overwork yourself, taking breaks when you need to is good to recharge and keep yourself motivated!

Balancing your grades and your good foundation of work experience (that’s the hardest bit imo), which are a great feat and you should be proud of yourself for how well you have managed, I suggest the following:
Look at universities that don’t weigh GCSE’s heavily (Birmingham, Leicester, KCL to name some).
Regarding predicted grades, as long as you get the minimum requirements unis don’t care if you’re doing 28 Alevels at A+ grades (cheeky reference iykyk)
What is important is to get an amazing UCAT/( or BMAT but always do the UCAT). This will be a significant determinator whether you will get an interview or not for many, if not most, universities. Starting earlier is better imo.
This doesn’t mean that if things don’t go well it doesn’t mean it’s over, you’ll have to choose carefully.
Also, some universities that I know give offers solely off interview performance- Kent and Medway as an example.