I was thinking the other day about how the results of driving tests seems to go in cycles. It’s a bit like a comet, where your better abled pupils get stripped away in the tail, and although you add to the comet’s head by acquiring new pupils, the less abled ones who are ready for test comprise the rocky core. Periodically, it’s only those who are part of that core who are going to test – and that’s where most of the fails come from.
I was struck by that one not long ago, when one particular pupil failed his second attempt. The examiner had told him after he failed the first time to put in for his test again straight away, and he interpreted that as not needing anymore lessons. Most of my pupils take a few more lessons on the run up to their next test. However, on the day of his second attempt it was clear that he’d gone off the boil a little more than most.
The thing is, you can’t force people to take lessons (especially if they can’t afford them). But anyone who has failed a test once already needs to be aware that it can be a false economy to not take any further ones between tests. At the very least, you need to keep driving and practising – and if you don’t have access to a car for private practice, then lessons with your instructor are the only sensible option.
In this guy’s case, he’d paid an extra £75 for a weekend test – but now he realises he will have to pay for another, and some extra lessons.
I was talking to another pupil today who has failed a test already. She’s a student, and I asked her how she normally revises coming up to an exam. You see, when I was at university, I never felt right unless I was actually sitting outside the exam room cramming for stuff I already knew. I realise that not everyone is like that, but equally I am certain that no one stops revising weeks before an exam. So why approach the driving test any differently?