Where you choose to take your test
Taking your driving test can mean the world, especially if such freedom promises to open up so many doors. But what if the town in which you choose to take your driving test in impacts on your chances of passing?
While on average over half of us need more than one attempt at our practical driving tests, some test centres are seeing pass rates of 84%, meaning less than 2 in 10 learners leave having failed. We’ve teamed up with 4 Wheelz Driving School to source data from test centres around the UK and see if your chances of passing have changed over the last 5 years and where in the country you’ve got the best chance of succeeding.
Map of UK Pass Rates: 2011 vs. 2016 Stats
Where more people are passing
Out of the 240 test centres all around the UK, just over half (125) have seen a higher pass rate than that of 2011. Some centres, such as the Scottish village of Golspie, have seen a whopping increase; rising from 59% in 2011, still way above the national average of 47%, to the highest reported pass rate of 2016 – 84%! So, if you’re from Golspie and do fail your test, try not to feel bad, it’s only the easiest place to pass your test in the country!
This also sparks the question of whether tests are more likely to be passed in rural areas, which certainly seems to be supported by the below table.
Down south Worthing (3.4%), Crawley (1.2%) and Hastings (1%) saw mild increases, while Eastbourne failed to follow suit with .1% less passes than 5 years before.
Where more people are failing
While Golspie may bolster Scottish success, our findings revealed three of the five biggest decreases in pass rates came from Scottish towns. However, the prize for the biggest dip goes to the Lincolnshire town of Grantham, interestingly a rural place, which went from a 63% pass rate to 49%, meaning 21.7% more failed tests than in 2011. (However, this is still above the national pass rate of 47.4%).
Towns Above Average
In 2016 the national pass rate increased by 1.1% from 46.9% in 2011, to 47.9% in 2016, All thanks to the higher average pass rates achieved by most towns in the UK.
We’ve listed the high achievers who scored above the national pass rate, so how well is your town doing? Is now the time to take your test?
| Town | Pass Rate |
| Lairg | 51.9% |
| Ullapool | 73.7% |
| Kyle of Lochalsh | 75% |
| Rothesay | 62.7% |
| Girvan | 62% |
| Malton | 70.6% |
| Grantham | 49.3% |
| Chelmsford | 48% |
| Stevenage | 53.4% |
| Scarborough | 66.3% |
| Lanark | 53% |
| Duns | 73.2% |
| Dundee | 58.1% |
| Golspie | 83.9% |
| Thurso | 69.6% |
Complete List of UK Driving Test Pass Rates For 2016 vs. 2011
Can’t find your town? Not to worry, here’s a full breakdown of how all UK towns’ pass rates have changed over the last five years.
| Town | 2016 Pass rate (%) | 2011 Pass rate (%) |
| Aberdeen | 48.3 | 50.8 |
| Aberfeldy | 54.1 | 50.6 |
| Abergavenny | 57.8 | 57.3 |
| Aberystwyth | 52.3 | 56 |
| Airdrie | 45.8 | 45.3 |
| Alness | 60.9 | 58.6 |
| Alnwick | 65.2 | 60.1 |
| Arbroath | 58.7 | 58.6 |
| Ashfield | 59.3 | 54 |
| Ashford (Kent) | 47.1 | 54.6 |
| Aylesbury | 45.6 | 47.3 |
| Ayr | 41.4 | 50.3 |
| Bala | 50.3 | 46.7 |
| Ballater | 68.1 | 72.2 |
| Banbury | 53.1 | 51.9 |
| Bangor | 57.8 | 51.9 |
| Barnsley | 51.3 | 42.3 |
| Barnstaple | 49 | 53.6 |
| Barrow In Furness | 56.5 | 62.7 |
| Barry | 56.3 | 53 |
| Basildon | 39.2 | 40 |
| Basingstoke | 43 | 48.8 |
| Benbecula Island | 52.2 | 60 |
| Berwick-On-Tweed | 56.8 | 60.1 |
| Birmingham | 38.2 | 40.4 |
| Bishops Stortford | 43.6 | 44 |
| Blackburn with Darwen | 39.5 | 46.3 |
| Blackpool | 47.6 | 49 |
| Bletchley | 46.6 | 48.4 |
| Blyth | 57.9 | 54.9 |
| Bodmin | 50 | 53.2 |
| Boston | 54.2 | 61.9 |
| Bournemouth | 59.8 | 53.1 |
| Bradford | 41.3 | 33.9 |
| Brecon | 66.2 | 62.8 |
| Bridgend | 50.6 | 53.4 |
| Bridlington | 56.9 | 52.9 |
| Bristol | 49.1 | 50.7 |
| Brodick (Isle of Arran) | 56.8 | 66.2 |
| Buckie | 51.7 | 54.8 |
| Burgess Hill | 49.3 | 50.5 |
| Burton on Trent | 45.6 | 46.3 |
| Bury St Edmunds | 43.2 | 49.9 |
| Buxton | 56.6 | 60.6 |
| Camborne | 50.9 | 53.5 |
| Cambridge | 51.9 | 51.5 |
| Cannock | 53.5 | 52.8 |
| Canterbury | 47.7 | 44.4 |
| Cardiff (Llanishen) | 47.5 | 53.1 |
| Cardigan | 55.3 | 59.1 |
| Carlisle | 58.5 | 58.3 |
| Carmarthen | 51.6 | 54.1 |
| Castle Douglas | 56.2 | 51.3 |
| Chelmsford (Hanbury Road) | 48 | 39.9 |
| Cheltenham | 41.4 | 48.3 |
| Chester | 42.1 | 46 |
| Chesterfield | 47.5 | 46.5 |
| Chichester | 53.9 | 52.4 |
| Chippenham | 48.5 | 51.3 |
| Chorley | 51.8 | 54 |
| Clacton-on-Sea | 43.8 | 45 |
| Colchester | 43.4 | 38.8 |
| Coventry | 36.7 | 37.9 |
| Crawley | 46.4 | 45.2 |
| Crewe | 55.8 | 52.2 |
| Crieff | 65.9 | 58.1 |
| Cumnock | 52.7 | 60.4 |
| Darlington | 47.5 | 49.3 |
| Derby (Alvaston) | 46.6 | 50.8 |
| Doncaster | 46 | 47 |
| Dorchester | 62.3 | 60.8 |
| Dumbarton | 48.3 | 50.5 |
| Dumfries | 47.8 | 50.4 |
| Dundee | 58.1 | 49.5 |
| Dunfermline | 48.9 | 48.5 |
| Dunoon | 67.9 | 69.4 |
| Duns | 73.2 | 54.1 |
| Durham | 60 | 60.1 |
| Eastbourne | 49.2 | 49.3 |
| Edinburgh | 49 | 46.9 |
| Elgin | 54.5 | 51.9 |
| Elswick | 45.9 | 39.5 |
| Exeter | 50.3 | 51.1 |
| Farnborough | 54.1 | 53.7 |
| Folkestone | 40.4 | 50.6 |
| Forfar | 56.9 | 58.1 |
| Fraserburgh | 59.5 | 54.8 |
| Gairloch | 68.2 | 76.3 |
| Galashiels | 64.3 | 58.8 |
| Gateshead | 44.8 | 43.9 |
| Gillingham | 49.3 | 45 |
| Girvan | 62.0 | 49.4 |
| Glasgow | 42.6 | 41.1 |
| Gloucester | 51 | 50.3 |
| Golspie | 83.9 | 58.8 |
| Grantham (Somerby) | 49.3 | 63 |
| Grantown-On-Spey | 57.6 | 62.3 |
| Greenock | 50.3 | 53.2 |
| Grimsby Coldwater | 46.9 | 45.5 |
| Guildford | 53.5 | 55.4 |
| Haddington | 60 | 58.5 |
| Halifax | 43.5 | 47.7 |
| Hamilton | 47.8 | 40.1 |
| Hartlepool | 53.6 | 53.3 |
| Hastings (Ore) | 46.2 | 45.3 |
| Hawick | 59.7 | 62 |
| Heckmondwike | 40.2 | 38.4 |
| Hereford | 57.2 | 53 |
| Herne Bay | 42.8 | 47.2 |
| Hexham | 58.7 | 50.8 |
| Heysham | 50.7 | 55.4 |
| High Wycombe | 52.2 | 53.1 |
| Hinckley | 45.1 | 52.4 |
| Horsforth | 47.2 | 46.3 |
| Huddersfield | 48.4 | 45.4 |
| Hull | 47.6 | 46.2 |
| Huntly | 56.6 | 60 |
| Inverness (Cradlehall Business Park) | 52.6 | 50.3 |
| Inverurie | 58.4 | 64.5 |
| Ipswich | 60.9 | 54.3 |
| Irvine | 52.3 | 48.6 |
| Isle of Skye | 56.5 | 58.9 |
| Kendal (Oxenholme Road) | 64.7 | 68.7 |
| Kettering | 49.7 | 48.3 |
| Kings Lynn | 50.9 | 50.6 |
| Kingussie | 65 | 56.5 |
| Kirkcaldy | 52.5 | 50 |
| Knaresborough | 52.3 | 53.5 |
| Kyle of Lochalsh | 75 | 52.9 |
| Lairg | 51.9 | 62.2 |
| Lampeter | 58.3 | 62.9 |
| Lanark | 53 | 42.6 |
| Launceston | 52.6 | 56.5 |
| Lee On The Solent | 52.9 | 51.8 |
| Leeds | 36.1 | 35.4 |
| Leicester | 46.6 | 41.3 |
| Leighton Buzzard (Stanbridge Road) | 49.9 | 46.7 |
| Letchworth | 50.3 | 43.8 |
| Lichfield | 54.9 | 52.9 |
| Lincoln | 50 | 53.8 |
| Liverpool | 42.2 | 47.1 |
| Llandrindod Wells | 68.4 | 64.7 |
| Llanelli | 50.7 | 50.6 |
| London | 47.1 | 42.1 |
| Loughborough | 55.1 | 50.2 |
| Louth | 61 | 59.7 |
| Lower Gornal | 52.4 | 48.9 |
| Lowestoft | 53.7 | 49.4 |
| Ludlow | 50.8 | 52 |
| Luton | 39.1 | 39.9 |
| Macclesfield | 52.6 | 52.6 |
| Maidstone | 46.1 | 52.9 |
| Malton | 70.6 | 58 |
| Manchester | 48.4 | 45.3 |
| Melton Mowbray | 62.1 | 60.6 |
| Middlesbrough | 52.1 | 49 |
| Monmouth | 50.8 | 58.2 |
| Montrose (Broomfield Ind Estate) | 62.1 | 60.2 |
| Nelson | 53 | 49 |
| Newbury (Hambridge Lane) | 52.5 | 52.9 |
| Newport (Isle Of Wight) | 57.5 | 52.1 |
| Newton Abbot | 57.9 | 60.2 |
| Newton Stewart | 52.4 | 57.2 |
| Newtown | 55.9 | 62.7 |
| Northallerton | 57.1 | 59.8 |
| Northampton | 54 | 49.2 |
| Northwich | 53.6 | 55.9 |
| Norwich | 53.8 | 54.7 |
| Nottingham (Colwick) | 48.1 | 49.1 |
| Nuneaton | 52.4 | 49.3 |
| Oban | 56.5 | 57.3 |
| Orkney | 68.6 | 60.6 |
| Oswestry | 54.4 | 55.5 |
| Oxford (Cowley) | 49.2 | 50.4 |
| Paisley | 45.1 | 37.9 |
| Peebles | 60.6 | 53.4 |
| Pembroke Dock | 53.5 | 56 |
| Penzance | 54 | 50.7 |
| Perth (Arran Road) | 51.5 | 49.3 |
| Peterborough | 54.2 | 47.9 |
| Peterhead | 65.2 | 57.3 |
| Pitlochry | 61.8 | 68.5 |
| Plymouth | 44.5 | 43.9 |
| Pontefract | 43.7 | 44.9 |
| Pontypridd | 54.7 | 53.8 |
| Portsmouth | 41.5 | 46.6 |
| Preston | 50.5 | 48.6 |
| Pwllheli | 60.1 | 61 |
| Reading | 45 | 48 |
| Redditch | 43.8 | 44.2 |
| Reigate | 50.9 | 52.1 |
| Rhyl | 48.3 | 39.6 |
| Rotherham | 49.2 | 45.1 |
| Rothesay | 62.7 | 73.2 |
| Rugby | 50.1 | 50.2 |
| Salisbury | 54.3 | 51.8 |
| Scarborough | 66.3 | 51.8 |
| Scunthorpe | 43.7 | 44.3 |
| Sevenoaks | 52 | 51.9 |
| Sheffield | 48.2 | 49 |
| Shrewsbury | 48.4 | 51.8 |
| Skegness | 59.8 | 61.4 |
| Skipton | 55.8 | 48.7 |
| South Shields | 49.1 | 47.8 |
| Southampton | 47.1 | 50 |
| St Albans | 47.7 | 39.7 |
| Stafford | 51.6 | 52.5 |
| Stevenage | 53.4 | 36.8 |
| Stirling | 42.1 | 43.3 |
| Stoke-on-Trent | 44.8 | 43.4 |
| Stranraer | 65.1 | 67 |
| Sunderland | 45.3 | 47 |
| Swansea | 52.6 | 52.7 |
| Swindon | 54.3 | 51.9 |
| Taunton | 57.6 | 57.2 |
| Telford | 49.6 | 48.6 |
| Thurso | 69.6 | 53.1 |
| Tilbury | 44.4 | 39.4 |
| Trowbridge | 48 | 53.6 |
| Tunbridge Wells | 52.8 | 58.6 |
| Ullapool | 73.7 | 53.8 |
| Upton | 50.3 | 49.8 |
| Wakefield | 45.8 | 40.1 |
| Wallasey | 40.6 | 46.1 |
| Warrington | 47.3 | 50.6 |
| Warwick | 53.6 | 55.3 |
| Watford | 47.3 | 49.2 |
| Wednesbury | 35.6 | 35.1 |
| Westbury | 55 | 56.5 |
| Weston-super-Mare | 53.9 | 51.7 |
| Whitby | 69.7 | 62.3 |
| Whitchurch | 47.1 | 52.3 |
| Widnes | 39.9 | 45.6 |
| Winchester | 45.7 | 48.7 |
| Wolverhampton | 42.4 | 47.8 |
| Worcester | 50.1 | 49.1 |
| Workington | 55.1 | 51.4 |
| Worksop | 56.5 | 50.5 |
| Worthing | 53.3 | 49.9 |
| Wrexham | 44 | 40.8 |
| Yeovil | 59 | 57 |
| York | 52.9 | 53.7 |
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These are interesting statistics. I mostly teach in WS and WV postcodes and find that Wednesbury is the most difficult place to pass a driving test whilst Lichfield seems very easy indeed! I haven’t noticed any differences from one year to the next though.
Hello! Cool post, amazing!!!