Cole's Driving School

23/09/2026

🎉 Congratulations Ollie! 🚗💨

A fantastic FIRST-TIME PASS today at Banbury Test Centre, with just ONE driving fault! 👏👏

Brilliant result and thoroughly deserved. Enjoy your new-found freedom and safe driving! 🚗🎉

17/07/2026

How many seconds are worth risking a life?

Today, whilst on a driving lesson with the pupil driving along the A429 from Wellesbourne towards Warwick, I experienced one of the closest calls I've ever had on the road. I had to intervene with the dual controls to prevent a serious collision.

A driver chose to overtake when it simply wasn't safe to do so. Within seconds they were on my side of the road with nowhere to go, leaving me to take evasive action to avoid what could have been a devastating head-on collision.

As a driving instructor, I spend every day teaching pupils that an overtake should only ever be attempted when you have:
✅ A clear view ahead.
✅ Plenty of time.
✅ Enough space.
✅ A safe route back into your lane.

If any one of those is missing, don't overtake.

The few seconds you might save are never worth gambling with someone else's life.

This wasn't just another driving mistake—it was a decision that could have changed several families forever.

I'm sharing the dashcam footage not to shame anyone, but to remind every driver that patience saves lives. If you find yourself behind a slower vehicle, take a breath and wait for a genuinely safe opportunity. You'll almost certainly arrive only moments later, but everyone gets there safely.

Please watch the video and ask yourself one question:

"Would arriving a few seconds earlier be worth risking a head-on collision?"

Stay safe, look after one another, and remember that every decision we make behind the wheel affects someone else's family as well as our own.

10/07/2026

Another pass in Warwick this afternoon for Harvey who passed with just 2 driver faults, congratulations 🎊, that was a fantastic result and well worth all the hard work you have put in. Drive safely.

10/07/2026

Nice view on my way to collect my pupil to take to his 8am test this morning in Warwick. I took it as a good luck sign and indeed it was, pupil passed with only three driver faults.

Congratulations 🎊 to you, no photo as he wanted his privacy, that's fine and wishing you a safe and happy future with your new found freedom. Enjoy your celebratory Chinese takeaway tonight!

23/06/2026

Congratulations Jake on passing your driving test at the first attempt in Banbury today, with only two driver faults. Drive safe.

17/06/2026

Huge congratulations to Evie today, despite her nerves, on passing her driving test in Banbury on the first attempt with just 2 driver faults. It's been a pleasure to to assist you on your journey to passing your test. Wishing you all the best for the future, drive safe!

22/05/2026

First time pass for William in Warwick today. Fabulous result and well deserved after all the hard work you put in. Will miss our chats, stay safe.

18/02/2026

Driving Test Cancellations

We are aware that quite a few practical driving tests have been cancelled by the DVSA this month in Banbury.

Each time an examiner conducts a test they sit in very close proximity to the candidate - this can happen at least 7 or 8 times a day, every day.
They are only human and don’t have a bullet proof immune system so they do pick up bugs just like we all do.

It seems Banbury, has had a few examiners who have sadly fallen foul of this.

The DVSA usually carry a few spare slots for such problems like illness or bad weather, but these have been used up and cancelled tests are being moved back to May/June.

We know it is not ideal, especially as the waiting list is currently about 6 months long, to then have it moved another 3 months further back can be a very frustrating situation for all involved .

We have asked the DVSA to look into this and see what, if anything, can be done.

Until then, if you have had a test cancelled, use this time to do mock tests with your instructor to get better prepared. You can never have too much practice!

19/11/2025

We’re making some subtle but meaningful changes to the practical driving test. 🚗

You may have seen that we have been trialling changes to the driving test at 20 driving test centres.

As part of the trial, learners drove on routes containing more high-speed, rural roads during their driving test, where location allowed. Now, we are rolling out the changes to all driving test centres in Great Britain from 24 November 2025.

As well as increasing the amount of time spent on higher-speed roads, we are:

✅ reducing the number of stops during the test from 4 to 3
✅ lowering the frequency of emergency stop exercises from 1 in 3 tests to 1 in 7
✅ adding flexibility to the independent driving segment, allowing it to run for the full duration of the test

These changes are designed to help improve road safety by better replicating the conditions motorists face in the real world. They won’t affect the skills needed to take a driving test.

Find out more about the changes 👉 https://ow.ly/vMIL50Xu1bT

16/11/2025

Big changes announced this week with the booking of driving tests from 2026, see the link below

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