The Four Steps to Getting a License

The DVSA say the average person requires around 45 hours of tuition and a further 22 hours of practise before they are test-ready. This varies widely between students, depending on their confidence, existing skills and motor skills, in terms of clutch control, steering control and so on.

Our lessons will teach you all the skills you need to pass first time:

• Car controls
• Using your mirrors
• Signalling
• Pulling away
• Speed and controlling it
• Junctions
• Driving in traffic
• Emergency stops
• Pedestrian crossings
• Hazard awareness
• Driving on main roads
• Roundabouts
• Dual carriageways
• 3 point turn
• Parking
• Reversing around a corner
• Planning ahead
• Vehicle safety check

The first few lessons start in quiet areas, to allow you to develop clutch control and a sense of car control.

As your confidence builds, so will the complexity of lessons. Everything goes at your own pace, so if you’re a nervous driver, your instructor will work with you to ensure you feel comfortable!

When your instructor feels its time to take your theory test, they will cover some highway code material to help you.

Toptests.co.uk offers an excellent online resource to cover actual questions in the real theory test.

A driving license requires you passing two tests – a theory, which involves no driving but a computerised exam, and a driving test.

You will be asked 50 questions, selected at random from a massive bank of questions, and you need to correctly answer 43 to pass. The questions could cover any part of the highway code, and so you need to know the vast majority of the highway code to have a good chance of passing.

There are many resources available to help you pass your theory, including official books released by the DVSA.

We recommend Toptests.co.uk – they even have timed tests on their websites, which also select 50 questions from a huge bank, to really simulate the actual exam. Resources are available on their website, as well as their own app, which gives you the chance to revise anywhere, whether its at home, work or even in bed!

The practical driving test breaks down to 5 separate stages.

• An eyesight check
  • You’ll be asked to read a numberplate from 20 metres. If you can’t do this, you fail on the spot.
• “Show me, tell me” questions
  • You’ll be asked a tell me question before you start driving.
  • Then asked a show me question whilst driving, at random.
• General driving ability
  • While the test center won’t tell us the route you’ll take, we teach you on the roads where in our experience, they’re most likely to take you.
  • You’ll drive in various road and traffic conditions, but not on motorways.
  • You’ll be asked to pull over and pull away during your test, including normal stops at the side of the road, pulling out from behind a parked vehicle and a hill start.
• Reversing your vehicle
  • You’ll be asked to do one of the following: parallel park, park in a parking bay, pull up on the right hand side of the road, reverse for 15m, and rejoin traffic.
• Independent driving ability
  • You’ll drive for 20 minutes, using either a sat nav or road signs.

At the end, you’ll find out your result based on your marks. Your instructor can come with you, but cannot speak, make any hand signals, and so on