Emily
Best thing to do is if you can, see if you could ever pass a class 1 medical at Gatwick. Not sure about what age you would have to be to do that. In the meantime, if you can afford to get your PPL then go for that.
I would also suggest that you seriously think about some other sort of job for the next 10 years whilst you save as much money as possible. Save as much as you can whilst you do your PPL if possible and then go modular route and get you licence.
Join the ATC and enjoy your time there and most impostant of all
Network, network, network
Rob