The figures indicate that male learners have a slightly higher pass rate (51%) compared to female drivers (49%)
Kent’s easiest and toughest driving test centres have been revealed – with learner drivers facing a huge difference in their chances of passing depending on where they take their test.
Last year, almost half of learner drivers passed their test nationally (49%). That has increased from 44% in 2008, showing that the likelihood of a successful attempt has increased in recent years.
The figures indicate that male learners have a slightly higher pass rate (51%) compared to female drivers (49%).
But learners could give themselves a much better chance of passing their driving test, depending on where they choose to take it.
There are no hard and fast rules about where you have to take your test, and while many will simply choose the closest test centre to where they live, data shows that it can pay to shop around.
For example, at Folkestone, Kent’s toughest driving test centre, the overall pass rate is 45%, with 45% of male learners and 46% of female drivers achieving a pass last year.
But further inland, to the west of our county at Tunbridge Wells, the pass rate is 59%, the highest in Kent, with 59% of male and 58% of female learners awarded a pass.
You can compare driving test centres near where you live using our interactive map. Test centres with a pass rate higher than the national average are coloured green, while those with a rate below the average are coloured red.
Across the whole of the UK, learners in Wolverhampton were the least likely to achieve a pass. Last year, just one in three drivers taking their test in Wolverhampton were successful (33%).
Meanwhile, nearly eight out of 10 drivers passed their test at Arbroath (79%). That was the highest pass rate among test centres that conducted at least 200 tests last year.
National data suggests that learners who want to improve their chances are better off going to quiet centres. All the testing centres with the highest pass rates had fewer than 500 tests conducted annually.
However, this is not obvious in Kent, where there were only a few hundred more tests carried out at Tunbridge Wells (4,887), the centre with the highest pass rate, than at Folkestone (4,370), which had the lowest rate.
Medway was Kent’s busiest driving test centre with around 15,000 tests per year, but it had a high overall pass rate of 57%, much greater than the national average.
You can compare driving test centres near where you live using our interactive map. Test centres with a pass rate higher than the national average are coloured green, while those with a rate below the average are coloured red.
