21/01/2025
𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐲 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝)!!!
As upcoming new drivers, you will likely know via both the national news and personal experience that there is 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 . Anywhere in the UK! So... a group of local driving instructors have compiled some useful information to support you on your journey towards becoming a fully qualified driver.
• Apply for your 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 early
to avoid delays.
•. Book your 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 in advance and
focus on studying the Highway Code for
better preparation rather than just trying
to memorise the correct answers.
•. Be aware of high demand for 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥
𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 in Shrewsbury—plan and book well
ahead and 𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐬 by booking
theory and practical tests directly via the
official GOV.UK website or your driving
instructor.
•. 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 about
test dates and lesson schedules to
ensure a smooth learning experience.
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
You can apply for a provisional licence from the age of 𝟏𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟗 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬. While you can apply early, you won’t be able to drive a car until your 𝟏𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 (or 16th if you receive Personal Independence Payment).
𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 (June–September) can lead to delays, so plan ahead to avoid last-minute stress. You can apply for your provisional licence online via 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐎𝐕.𝐔𝐊 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 or by post.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭
You can book your theory test up to 𝟑 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟏𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 and take it on or after your 17th birthday.
𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 for the theory test is key. There are plenty of apps available for both Android and iPhones that include mock tests, hazard perception practice, and the latest Highway Code.
It’s 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 to study the Highway Code thoroughly. Don’t rely solely on app based question banks; the 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 to all theory test questions are in 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 it will give you a better 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲. Memorising the right answers without understanding is not the best way to prepare!
Once you pass your theory test, you have 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 to book and pass your practical driving test before the theory test certificate expires.
The 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞 is currently (at time of writing) is £𝟐𝟑.
𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 book through the official government website to avoid extra charges or scams.
𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬
You can only book your practical test 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭.
In Shrewsbury, driving test slots are currently being released in 𝐨𝐧𝐞-𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬, up to 𝟔 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 of the current date due to high demand. This means you may need to plan well ahead to secure a test date that suits you.
As the 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 is exceptionally high, people are travelling from as far as Scotland and London to take their test in Shrewsbury due to limited availability in their own areas. This has 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 to our local system.
𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐬 can be helpful in finding earlier test dates, but costs vary, and availability depends on the situation.
𝐁𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 that companies are employing staff to refresh the booking system constantly, snapping up cancellations and reselling them at inflated prices. This has made it difficult for learners to access 𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.
The fee for a 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 £𝟔𝟐, while a 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 £𝟕𝟓 (at time of writing).
𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 on your chosen test date before booking. This avoids the risk of needing to find a new instructor last minute, which many instructors won’t be able to accommodate.
𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞?
The total cost of learning to drive varies from person to person, but 𝟑𝟓 𝐭𝐨 𝟒𝟓 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 of lessons with a professional instructor is typical. 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 with family or friends can be hugely beneficial, but not everyone has access to this opportunity. Local lesson price ranges between £𝟑𝟓 𝐚𝐧𝐝 £𝟓𝟓 𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫, depending on:
•. Whether you are learning in a manual or
automatic car (automatic lessons are
often more expensive);
•. The length of the lesson (1–2 hours is
standard).
𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑐 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠. 𝐸𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝐷𝑉𝑆𝐴 𝐷𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑑𝑔𝑒 - 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒.
𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬.
