About Me
I have held a full licence for 44 years. I hold a RoSPA‘Gold’ Advanced Driving Certificate and I am also an ‘Approved Car Tutor’ which qualifies me to give advance driving tuition on behalf of RoSPA. The RoSPA advanced driving test consists of at least a 60 minute drive being examined by a Police Class 1 driver, includes a full commentary at some stage and some theory questions. This qualification has to be renewed every 3 years and I was re-tested in January 2010 and passed at Gold again.
I have completed a BSM examiners course which allows me to carry out ‘Mock’ Driving Tests on behalf of other BSM instructors and a Pass Plus assignment passed with distinction. I am DSA Grade 5 instructor, which is a measure of an instructor’s ability to teach. Grade 6 is the highest. I achieved my grade after just 1 year and hope to achieve a 6 at my next ‘check test’ due at the beginning of next year.
Pass Rate is very difficult to verify because we are unable to publish pupil details; however, I monitor my own and over the 18 month period to 31/12/09, I took 57 people to test, 38 passed giving a pass rate of 66.67% made up of:
- 24 1st time passes
- 8 2nd time passes
- 5 3rd time passes
- 1 5th time pass
My 1st time pass rate for 2009 was 68.18%. All these tests were taken at the Bury St Edmunds test centre. The actual pass rates for Bury St Edmunds are 2006/2007 = 39.96%, 2007/2008 = 40.44% and2008/2009 = 40.74%.* I think it is fair to say that all instructors have had pupils who they believe will pass with flying colours but have slipped up just because it’s a test.
I am married with 2 grown up daughters and 5 grand children and live in Thurston, near Bury St Edmunds. I have been an instructor for 5 years prior to that owned and ran Thurston Post Office for 9 years.
