Life Skills Driving School

18/06/2026

Safety starts right from the moment you get into the car.

10/06/2026

LEARNERS BEWARE.
As of yesterday, 9th June 2026, the rules for booking your driving test have changed.

DO NOT book a driving test a million miles away from your current location, thinking you'll be able to move location at a later date.

From now on, wherever you book your driving test, you will only be able to change the test location to one of the three nearest test centres to the location that you originally booked it at.

09/06/2026

Have you interpreted the flash correctly?

Highway Code Rule 110. Only flash your headlights to let other road users know that you are there. DO NOT flash your headlights to convey any other message or intimidate other road users.

Highway Code Rule 111. NEVER assume that flashing headlights is a signal inviting you to proceed. Use your own judgement and proceed carefully.

08/06/2026

Are you looking for Quality Driving Instructor Training?
Whether it's training from the start or building on your current skills, give me a call.
We offer the complete package of Online and in-car training, or if you want to build on your current skills, we also offer in-car training on a pay-as-you-go basis.

03/06/2026

GIFT Training Program for driving instructors is now complete!

I have spent hundreds of hours on this to develop a decent training program for new driving instructors.

Having been in the industry for 10 years now, I've seen some absolutely appalling training programs and new instructors coming into the industry who have been let down by their trainers.

I felt this had to be done.

My instructor's training manual books were the start of making a difference in the industry, but this course takes things way further.

The start of the course is online, with worksheets, quizzes, and practical practice sessions to build on an instructor's current skills, and then there is the in-car training to build those skills to that of an advanced driver, followed by training them how to become a modern-day instructor utilising teaching and coaching methods.

Prior to it becoming fully live, it will become a CPD Standards Office Accredited course.

I can't wait!

02/06/2026

What an amazing training session I had with Mille today.

Mum decided to join us so that Mille could show her just how good she was at driving.

And when we left her house at 12O'clock, it was lovely, clear blue sunny skies all around us.
However, as the session progressed and we made our way towards Petersfield, the skies became a little dark, followed by being very dark.
This led to rain, followed by lightning and a thunderstorm!

Now we're not just talking about a little rain, I think God decided he wanted to fill up the reservoirs around Hampshire in 5 minutes!

Flooded roads to the extent we had to watch out for potential aquaplanning situations.
As we reached Petersfield, we pulled in to the services so I could check Mille was ok, as she does not like thunderstorms.

I asked Mille how she normally deals with them when she's at home, to which "hid under a duvet" was her answer.

So, to be driving, it must have felt like hell on earth for her.

I asked if Mille was Ok to continue or whether she would like me to continue the remainder of the drive. But nope, SHE WAS IN CONTROL! More than happy to carry on.

So, sun, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning were obviously not enough! On the return journey, the clouds opened up again, and once the rain had belted down yet again, whoever was making the decisions up in the sky decided, "Hey, let pelt her with hailstones as well, and make them so hard that she can't see the car ahead of her." It came down so hard that we nearly had to stop completely.

But yet again, Mille took this all in her stride and just dealt with it.

Some drivers are just natural at driving, and Mille, without a doubt, is one of these drivers.

I could wait months for all these different weather conditions to arrive so that my pupils gain experience in different weather conditions, but to have had nearly every weather condition other than fog and snow in just a 2-hour session was absolute gold dust!

So this post is literally to give it up for Mille, for such an awesome drive today in some very extreme circumstances

01/06/2026

A huge congratulations to Ella today.
Today, Ella held her nerves together and showed that she actually deserved her full driving licence.

It's been close to nearly 2 years since Ella started her journey with me. A lot of anxiety to begin with, and for Ella to get on top of this was quite a challenge.
Different people react in so many different ways when it comes to anxiety; some go into flight mode, others into fight mode, or others into fawn mode.

Ella had a little bit of each to be honest, and this affected her first test big time. Her second test was more controlled, but a silly mistake resulted in a failure again. So today, we really focused on breathing, not getting into the examiner's head, and for her to just go and drive how she drives with me. Not overthinking things, not driving how she thought the examiner would want to see her drive, but purely just driving like I was sitting next to her.

This is exactly what she did, and Tony (her examiner) was absolutely brilliant. He calmed her down, reassured her, and kept a good conversation going (as Ella loves to talk) so that she didn't get into her own head and overthink things.

With just 3 driving faults, Ella now has the freedom to go where and when she wants, and has endless possibilities for the future.

Well done, Ella. It's been a fantastic journey seeing you develop into a really smooth, calm driver.

01/06/2026

24/05/2026

It's all about being aware of your surroundings.