A real mixed bag of test results recently. Over the course of their lessons I get to know my pupils' driving their strengths and weaknesses. Then, when I think we have eliminated their weaknesses, they pass their test. At least, that is the plan. The trouble is, I have no control over what they do in those forty minutes of the test. I have had a few people recently who I was absolutely convinced would breeze through the driving test, but something silly happened and they failed.
Nerves are the usual problem. A couple of weeks ago Sarah had her first attempt. Being quite heavily pregnant, she had to choose between taking her test before or after the baby. In the weeks before her test she began to doubt her choice. But what reassured me was that, although she asked me all sorts of questions, many were about complex hypothetical scenarios, not simply 'how do I do this?' On the day of her test the glorious weather had brought even more tourists into Ullapool (although not as many as had been in the village the previous week for the World Skiff Rowing Championships). It obviously didn't matter. At the end of her test she stepped out of my car, proudly brandishing her pass certificate. "I passed!"
I looked at her test sheet. "You didn't just pass," I informed her, "you were perfect. Literally." Sarah had just become only my second pupil to pass with 0 driver errors. Absolutely fantastic.
Last Christmas my brother, Chris, his wife, Sondra, and son, Matthew, came to stay with us for a few days. Being 16 years old, the subject of Matthew learning to drive came up.
"Come up and stay with us for a while when you turn 17 and I'll be happy to teach you. " I suggested.
So, tomorrow morning, Matthew is flying up and spending a couple of weeks with us. And, as I have been so neglectful of this blog recently, I thought I would document his progress.
Stay tuned
