.......well, maybe a slight exaggeration, but certainly one of the greatest days of my career as a driving instructor.No, I'm not talking about Liverpool's triumphant march through to the Europa Cup semi-finals (and congratulations to Fulham too). I'm not talking about Manchester Utd's demise at the hands of Bayern Munich. I'm not even talking about how much more enjoyable that result was because of Fergie's hilarious little strop about 'typical Germans'.
Over the whole of Britain, the average Driving Test pass rate is less than 50%. And of course, not all tests are first time tests. So, the stats say you are not likely to pass 1st time. I'm quite happy with the amount of my pupils that do pass 1st time, but there are certainly pupils that take 2 or 3 attempts to pass. A few years ago I was concerned when I had one pupil take 5 attempts to pass. It was a pupil I was very sure would pass 1st time, so each successive failure increased in shock value.
If you have read certain earlier posts on this blog, you will know that I currently have one pupil who has taken more than 5 attempts at the test. In fact, Ruby has failed 6 times. I'm not going to go on about 'what a good driver' she is, blah blah, because I have done that already. She just does silly things on her tests. Today was her 7th attempt.
She was not particularly impressed when I told her I had booked the 8.40am test, meaning she would have to find a babysitter to start at 7.30am. "I cannae do 7.30! I'll never be awake." "You'll be fine." I reassured her, but I could see she wasn't convinced.
A bit futile trying to create some suspense because I have already hinted at the result in the title and opening paragraph. Still, she had me in suspense. The examiners now ask the candidate if they would like the instructor to accompany them, or if they would like the instructor to be present at the post-test debrief. Ruby was happy for me to go and have a coffee, but she wanted me to be at the debrief. When Ruby returned from her test I wandered towards the car and was dismayed to see her with her hands on the wheel, but her head between her hands (on the wheel). 'Oh, no. Not again.' was my immediate reaction. I wasn't sure how many more times I would be able to lift her spirits and encourage her to book another test. I opened the door in time to hear Ruby say "REALLY?! I could kiss you!" I'm sure the examiner blushed a little.
She got out the car and gave me a big hug. "I PASSED! I PASSED!
"Why did you have your head in your hands?" I asked.
"I dunno..... I was just preparing myself for the result."
"So, did you think you had done something wrong?"
"No. I don't think so..... I just didn't expect to pass."
"Nice feeling though, isn't it?"
"Yeah...... Don't think it's sunk in yet."
Last year I taught Fiona how to drive when her husband died unexpectedly and she was left without any means of transport. The day she passed was probably the happiest moment of my career, but today came pretty close to that. And, in case Ruby needs more good news, she will be relieved to learn that her 7 attempts pale into insignificance when compared to Ch Sa-soon, who took NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY attempts to pass her driving test. See http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6908557.ece
Unfortunately, I now have a bit of a queasy feeling, having realised I actually quoted Take That.
how about dynamic drive co
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