What The L Driving School

What The L Driving School We are an independent driving school owned by Mark Bentley & Jacqui Smith operating from Kidsgrove, Stoke on Trent.

We are an independent driving school jointly owned by Mark Bentley and Jacqui Smith based in Kidsgrove, Stoke on Trent. We provide high quality driving lessons and driving instructor training at competitive prices in and around Stoke on Trent. Here at ´What the L´ we have 15 years combined experience in driver training and are grade 5 and 6 driving instructors, offering a high standard of driving

instruction and an enviable high pass rate. All Terms and Conditions can be found in our pricing section of our website at http://www.whattheldrivingschool.co.uk/driving-lesson-prices.php

15/11/2025

To everyone thinking about learning
to drive.

I will teach you to drive first.
Only when you can drive safely, independently and consistently will we talk about a test.
If that does not fit your expectations, then I am not the instructor for you.

Too many people want the quick route.
Minimal hours.
Fast pass.
In and out.
Rush it.
Hope for the best.

That mindset is dangerous.
It is careless.
It is how people end up in situations they never saw coming because nobody taught them the real skills, the judgment, the awareness, the instinct.

This is not a tick-box exercise.
This is a ton of moving metal on a public road with lives at stake.
Your life.
Your passengers’ lives.
Other people’s children.
Other people’s families.

Cutting your training down to the bare minimum does not make you smart.
It makes you unprepared.

The test doesn’t make you safe.
Good training does.
Good habits do.
Time behind the wheel does.
Real instruction does.

So if you’re looking for an instructor who will sign you off after the smallest number of lessons just to keep you happy!

There are plenty of people who will take your money and hand you false confidence.

I’m not one of them.

I train drivers, not box-tickers.

I will not apologise for putting safety first.

15/11/2025

🚩 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL LEARNER DRIVERS 🚩

In the coming months, DVSA will:

🚗 Change the booking service to allow only learner car drivers to book and manage their tests (instructor can set availability)

🚗 Introduce a limit on the number of times a learner car driver can move or swap a test to twice and also limit the area they can move a test to once booked (most likely 2 changes as this was 50.2% on surgery)

🚗 Make use of Ministry of Defence (MOD) driving examiners for up to 12 months to help tackle driving test waiting times.

🚗Overall, this decision will have an impact on the driving schools everywhere.

Please ask if you have any questions regarding the changes coming soon.

21/09/2024

A child is 9 months in gestation, 17 years being nurtured, loved and cared for, protected from danger, encouraged to study and learn the syllabus for their exams to ensure they achieve good results and secure a successful future.

That’s why as a parent and a driving instructor I will respect that philosophy, I will only allow your children to take a test if I feel they are safe, exactly as I would do with my own!

I can teach them, I can help them, but I can’t mend them or bring them back if something bad happens!

If people want to be just pushed through a test as quick as they can, without enough experience, please don’t contact me. I am not the instructor for you.

I may be an instructor, but my main role is a parent! I won’t take chances 🙏

Shared from another instructor but very true. !

22/06/2024

Copied but fully supported..

Imagine a child throwing a tantrum because their parents won’t let them ride their bike as fast as they want.

That’s what I see grown adults do every day.

They’ll throw little tantrums because the car in front is sticking to the speed limit.

Especially in a 20mph zone.

Actual tantrums.

By actual adults.

(If you ask them about it, they actually try to justify it, the same way a child would!)

So if you’re learning to drive, and there’s an ‘adult’ behind you throwing a tantrum, try not to let them affect you too much.

If you are a qualified driver wirh one of these children behind you just pity them and then ignore them .

Imagine them rolling around on the floor screaming in ASDA because the queue is too long.

That’s basically what they’re doing.

18/03/2024

Looking for a driving instructor? Just a polite reminder …….

1. We are NOT waiting for you to call (week before you turn 17) as we've been fully booked for several months, plan ahead choose an instructor and get your name down on their waiting list!

2. Asking "how many hours do I need?" when the first few lessons have been completed, is like asking "how long is a piece of string?” Remember it’s a skill for life be patient and enjoy your journey!
Rome wasn’t built in a day!!

3. When asked upon enquiry whether you've driven before, does not mean in a carpark/forest with your mates!

4. The "cost" should NOT be your no. 1 priority!
We teach a life skill and it’s fine to pay £35-£40 for riding lessons, music lessons, football coaching etc. I can assure you that it's more dangerous to drive than the above!
Cheap is not always good!
Good is not always cheap!

5. When you cancel short notice, we charge! It costs US money as we all budget the hours we need to teach in order to live.

6. "My mate passed in 5/10hrs..." Really? We hear it all the time! Believe what you want ..

7. When you fail, take responsibility for it... It wasn't because the examiner didn't like you, it was a "Monday", it was a "Friday", etc
YOU were unsuccessful because you didn't drive to the required standard expected.

8. If you fail, don’t just retake a test, you failed FOR A REASON... You need additional training.
It's no good just taking another test - you were unsuccessful because you didn’t reach the standard required!

9. We, as instructors have heard all the stories about "my last instructor was unreliable etc" and in many cases, it's due to being charged for late cancellation of lessons (Our wages)!

10. We pay a lot to earn our qualifications, pass our exams, run our car i.e. fuel, insurance, tax, tyres, licence... When we tell you a certain way to do something, it's for a good reason so hearing "My dad said..." really doesn't help your cause!
By the way, I stole this from another Instructor.

11. Be patient with yourself - it takes times to learn. It does not happen overnight.
Learning to drive will probably be one of the most difficult dangerous skills you ever learn!

12. Don't stay up till 2am the night before and expect to be sharp the next day. No drinking, smoking, drugs etc

13. Practice makes perfect - practice practice and practice no lesson goes to waste when learning how to drive, we learn something new each time we get behind the wheel with different scenarios and situations, you will know when you are ready to leave us when you are doing everything confidently and independently!

14. The greater the effort the sweeter the reward ...so pay attention and ask as many questions as you need to ask 😉

Whoever you are and whoever you learn with enjoy the journey ! 💯

Have A Good Day 🚙 💨

13/03/2024

Your Driving Test

Have you ever noticed all those passes and happy faces on every driving instructors page - including mine?

While it is great to see those happy faces it is really important to be aware of the hard work, and sometimes tears, it takes to get that test pass.
It's a moment worth celebrating, and that's just what we do.

We celebrate!

But what about those who don't pass?

The driving test is not an easy skill to achieve.
Each and every pupil who takes their driving test battles nerves, excitement, sometimes self doubt, and a hundred other emotions, it can sometimes end in a failed test.

If it wasn't such an insensitive thing to do I would put their picture on my page too and celebrate their bravery for trying so hard to pass.
Especially knowing they are planning to put themselves through it all over again.
Behind every pass is a pupil who didn't pass.

And what about the instructor?

Truth be told, when I watch my brave pupil drive off with the examiner I wish for nothing other than a happy ending.
Seeing your efforts result in victory is incredibly special, the very best feeling.
Sitting with a pupil who didn't pass is heartbreaking 🥲

I don't have a 100% pass rate, no instructor does.

But what I do have is you at the centre of my driving world.

When you drive off to start your test I want to put your smiling face on my page, and if it's not today, it will be next time 🙏🏾

To all my pupils with their driving tests approaching

Don't give up you've come so far
If there's a silver lining (and there always is) to an unsuccessful driving test it's that you now know precisely what to expect on test day.

You can ask friends and family and read first-hand accounts but, unless you've taken the test yourself, you won't know exactly what it's like

You can do this! 🫶🏾

19/02/2024

A Day in the Life of a Driving Instructor.....

Please share and get the message out there as it would really help us.

Fancy looking at a day in the life of a driving instructor?

🫣We get abuse for being in the correct lanes.

🤔We get abuse for sticking to the speed limits.

🤦🏽‍♀️We get abuse for slowing down because it says so on the road.

😞We get abuse for pulling up outside your house.

🫤We get abuse because the driver didn’t set off quick enough.

😮‍💨We get abuse for stalling.

🤔We get abuse for not tailgating the car in front.

😱We even get abuse for not blocking junctions and not going into a box junction.

😣We get abuse when you kindly let a learner out but they don’t react as quick as you would like them too.

☹️Please don't beep your horn, it really won't speed us up.

Until we teach one of your family to drive then for a short time the abuse stops, but only for a short time.

We have all had to learn to drive, it’s funny how quickly we forget what it’s like.

We forget what it’s like to approach the first roundabout, the first parallel park, the first crossroads.

Please have a thought for us and our Students. It could be your son, daughter, niece, nephew, friend.

Please be patient...

Thank you 🚗🏁

08/01/2024

We currently have 5 spaces available for manual driving lessons in ST1, ST2, ST3, ST4, ST5 and ST6

18/09/2023

We have 1 space available for manual lessons during the hrs of 9am to 3pm week days only covering areas
ST 3,4,5,11,12,15,16,17,18,21.

14/09/2023

We have 3 spaces available for manual lessons during the hrs of 9am to 3pm covering areas
ST 3,4,5,11,12,15,16,17,18,21.

23/05/2023

We now have automatic lesson availability in areas St3, ST5, ST6, ST7

19/05/2023

We now have manual lesson availability in areas st11, st12, st13, st14, st15, st16, st17, st18 and st21

Address

Stoke-on-Trent
ST74

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 7pm
Tuesday 8am - 7pm
Wednesday 8am - 7pm
Thursday 8am - 7pm
Friday 8am - 7pm
Sunday 8am - 7pm

Website

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