Complete control

I did something this morning I haven't done in quite a while; I sat and had a chat with other instructors (Fraser, very experienced, and Jaqui, very new, both from Forres) while my pupil was out on test. Always nice to get different perspectives and get to know the people I wave to each day as we pass by.
It was my pupil's first attempt. He actually started lessons with me way back in Spring 2010, but had trouble passing his theory test, otherwise he would have taken his driving test long ago.
I remember his early lessons. A relative bought him a block of ten lessons when I was still with BSM and the early lessons were a bit of a struggle. He lives in Lossiemouth, a fishing village/town with a fantastic beach on one side and an RAF base on the other. The original village is built on a grid system on a hill, with the buildings built very close to the roads. This means lots of uphill and downhill closed (blind) crossroads. From an instructor's point of view, it is a great place to teach junctions and clutch control - driving uphill to a blind give-way, the pupil either has to be very precise with their clutch control, or they just have to stop and apply the handbrake. Obviously, I didn't start my pupil on these tough junctions, but, as he progressed, the fact that he lived in Lossiemouth was an opportunity not to be wasted and we spent many lessons trying to perfect his control.
The test centre is at the larger town of Elgin, just a few miles inland. After about ten lessons my pupil asked me why we had not yet gone into Elgin; some of his friends were questioning the fact that he had still not had any lessons in the larger town and boasted that their instructors had got them going round Elgin test routes within their first ten hours. I stuck to my guns and reassured him that, once we had mastered his clutch control and approach to junctions in Lossie, Elgin would be easy.
And so it proved: In December I wrote about how impressed I was a particular pupil's ability and control whilst tackling the gradients of Elgin in the snow and ice, while more experienced drivers were struggling, slipping and wheelspinning. It was this pupil. The only problem was, having no computer, he had to go to the library or relatives to practice his theory and hazard perception - not ideal - and took several attempts to finally pass.
No such problem today; he passed his driving test easily, first time. I was curious about the de-brief. The examiner faulted him a couple of times for not using the handbrake. The problem was that his clutch control had become so precise, he could easily hold the car perfectly still on a steep incline, just by using the biting point and accelerator. Very impressive, but not ideal for the car, and I have told him that, if he has plenty of time to apply and release the handbrake (i.e. maybe 5 seconds or more), then he should use it. Perhaps his friends were right. Perhaps we did spend too much time on those junctions in Lossiemouth after all.
Anyway, very well-done Anthony. It was all worthwhile in the end.