Study reveals UK driving test centres with the highest first-time pass rates

A new study has revealed the driving centres in Britain with the highest first-time pass rates, with Peebles in Scotland coming out top.

Analysis of public driving test data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) between April 2022 and April 2023 has determined which test centres have the highest rate of drivers passing their practical test first time.

Test centres with fewer than 100 recorded driving test attempts, or insufficient data were excluded from the final results.

Peebles, Scotland ranked top in the UK, with 78.1 per cent of drivers passing first time at this test centre.

An impressive 157 out of 201 drivers passed their test first time throughout this period, with 80.4 per cent of male drivers and 76 per cent of female drivers passing on the first attempt.

Six drivers passed first time with zero faults, the equivalent to 3 per cent of the total attempts during the period.

Hawick in Scotland came second with 76.8 per cent of drivers passing their test here first time.

An impressive 195 out of 254 people recorded first time passes, with 79.7 per cent of male drivers and 74.3 per cent of female drivers passing their test on the first attempt at this centre.

Kelso, also in Scotland, ranked close behind in third place with 75.8 per cent of drivers passing their test here first time.

Kendal, Alnwick and Chichester

South of the border, Kendal came in sixth place and Alnwick came in eighth place with 69.2 per cent of drivers passing their test first time here.

Chichester rounds out the top ten with 64.5 per cent of drivers passing their test first time. There were 2,632 first time passes out of 4,081 first time attempts between 2022 and 2023.

Comming on the findings, Chris Lear, the managing director at One Sure Insurance, said: “These findings offer great insight into the areas where learner drivers are most likely to pass their driving test for the first time, with many rural Scottish towns dominating the top spots.

“There are a number of factors that can influence a test centre’s pass rates. Less densely populated highstreets, fewer cars on the roads and less complicated junctions, can often make it less stressful for learner drivers taking their test in rural towns, compared to those being assessed in more built-up urban areas.

“Learners taking tests at these centres may also benefit from having spent more time practicing on quieter roads outside of their regular driving lessons, which can help build up their confidence when it comes time to take their practical test.”

The 20 UK driving test centres with the highest first-time pass rates

1.	Peebles	201	157	78.1%
2.	Hawick	254	195	76.8%
3.	Kelso	165	125	75.8%
4.	Arbroath	280	205	73.2%
5.	Montrose	256	187	73.0%
6.	Kendal (Oxenholme Road)	1,009	703	69.7%
7.	Forfar	233	162	69.5%
8.	Alnwick	558	386	69.2%
9.	Lerwick	224	146	65.2%
10.	Chichester	4,081	2,632	64.5%
11.	Bridlington	1,602	1,033	64.5%
12.	Oban	180	116	64.4%
13.	Pembroke Dock	1120	718	64.1%
14.	Stranraer	203	130	64.0%
15.	Newton Stewart	100	64	64.0%
16.	Lee On The Solent	4,983	3188	64.0%
17.	Fraserburgh	238	151	63.4%
18.	Alness	464	293	63.1%
19.	Basingstoke	2,416	1,518	62.8%
20.	Barrow In Furness	1,093	680	62.2%

The 20 UK driving test centres with the lowest first-time pass rates

1.	Speke (Liverpool)	2,648	722	27.3%
2.	Erith (London)	1,804	591	32.8%
3.	Belvedere (London)	1,150	381	33.1%
4.	Glasgow (Shieldhall)	2,602	870	33.4%
5.	Wolverhampton	5,072	1,713	33.8%
6.	Crawley	2,729	929	34.0%
7.	Rochdale (Manchester)	2,761	955	34.6%
8.	Bury (Manchester)	3,165	1,095	34.6%
9.	Wednesbury	2,918	1,019	34.9%
10.	Plymouth	3,470	1,217	35.1%
11.	Barking (Tanner Street)	2,457	889	36.2%
12.	Norris Green (Liverpool)	5,362	1,949	36.3%
13.	Featherstone	3,219	1,173	36.4%
14.	Greenford (Horsenden Lane)	2,991	1,091	36.5%
15.	Doncaster (Legacy Centre)	152	56	36.8%
16.	St Helens (Liverpool)	3,618	1,336	36.9%
17.	Wanstead (London)	3,586	1,339	37.3%
18.	Birmingham (South Yardley)	4,089	1,550	37.9%
19.	Leicester (Cannock Street)	4,555	1,728	37.9%
20.	Birmingham (Kingstanding)	2,665	1,021	38.3%

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.