How many lessons?

If you look at our Training Checklist, you will see the main things that you have to learn and be able to do. The length of time it takes you to become proficient at each item will depend on your aptitude. After a few lessons, your instructor will be able to assess your ability and rate of progress. He will then be able to give you an opinion as to how long it is going to take you to get up to standard.

How often?

That is up to you, and on how much time and money you can afford to spend each week, but we offer the following advice:

Have lessons as frequently as you can afford. At least one per week. Two is much better, you will learn more than twice as quickly. However, we do not recommend that you have lessons too intensively, if you can avoid it.

Have lessons regularly. If you have lessons now and then, you will make progress, but you will probably end up taking more lessons this way. If you train regularly and frequently, you will not get "rusty" between lessons. You will not spend a part of your lesson getting back to where you left off last time.

Some pupils' report that they prefer one and a half-hour and occasionally two hour lessons rather than one hour. They feel these longer lessens give them more time to get into their driving. Others prefer the traditional one-hour lesson. Lessons of less than one hour are too short. They simply do not give you enough time to get "warmed up" and into the lesson.

Allow your instructor to organise a properly structured training schedule for you.

Get Motivated: Stay Motivated

Make a commitment to your driving lessons, and to passing your test first time.

The excitement and sense of achievement when you first start will make this easy. However, once the basic car control skills and road procedures have been learned, your apparent rate of progress will slow. From then on, your improvement from one lesson to the next will be less noticeable to you. As your progress slows, so will your motivation. However, this is the most important stage of your learning. During this phase, you will be starting to do it for yourself, rather than at your instructors bidding. Your hazard perception skills, your judgement of speed and distance, and your general roadsense will all be developing.

As your skills improve, and things start to fall into place, your motivation will start to increase again. You will now have your driving test in sight, which in itself is a very strong boost to your motivation!

Can I save money?

Yes, by doing it properly: do not attempt your theory test or your driving test unless you have prepared for them and are at the standard that is required. I have even known some people to have the idea that the examiner will not pass them first time. They take their first test as soon as they can to get their failure out of the way. You will pass your tests when you are good enough to pass and not before.

Wasting exam fees by "having a go" is simply a waste of your time and money. This money uselessly spent on exam fees is better invested in lessons.