30/06/2010 More new instructors and areas covered

We are pleased to welcome another two instructors to the school. Alison Mulligan will operate across the south of Glasgow and in East Kilbride. She has a Mini and will allow us to provide more availability of the Mini vehicles across this area as the current ones are constantly booked out. Stephen, based in Cumbernauld, has an Astra and will cover mainly Cumbernauld and Falkirk but will also help cover north Glasgow around Maryhill and Springburn where we are quickly growing thanks to the standards of service we set ourselves. Both of the instructors are fully qualified DSA Approved Driving Instructors.

29/04/2010 Price changes from 1st June 2010

Due to huge increases in our operating costs we will be forced to  increase our prices slightly from 1st June 2010. When the driving school first started in 2006, prices were at their current levels. Prices have never been increased in four years. Meanwhile all other costs have increased. Fuel costs in June last year were approximately 99.9p/litre. They are now around 120.9p/litre and rising. This is an increase of over 20% just in one year. In addition to increasing fuel cost, the costs of cars, repairs to cars and car insurance have all increased as well as living costs for the instructors. Since 2006 we have tried to continue absorbing these costs. However, it has now become necessary to increase the prices to start to partly cover these mounting costs. As a result a small increase in lesson prices will be made from 1st June 2010 and Glasgow area prices will be as follows :-

Single lessons = £21

Block 5 lessons = £100

Block 10 lessons = £190

Block 20 lessons = £370

Intensive 20 hr course = £473

Intensive 30hr course = £663

Intensive 40hr course = £843

We have always been competitive compared with local prices and we believe this is still the case. We only offer fully qualified instructors which even some of the national schools can’t say to be the case. And most of our customers would agree they receive great service from us. If you are a current pupil, your instructor will let you know of the change and give you as much notice as possible. New customers please be aware the prices will change from the above date. For the forseeable future the reduced prices in North East England will remain as they are(due to local market conditions).

07/04/2010 Booking your driving test or theory test

Could all pupils and visitors please read and take in the following advice. There are many third-party websites available to book your theory test or practical driving test.  To avoid any legal threats I can’t name them but you can google to find out. Most of these websites will charge you more to book your test for, in my opinion, a worse service than you will get from the official DSA website. In addition you have to wait to be given a date rather than selecting and confirming it yourself. The current correct prices for tests are as follows. Theory test £31, Practical test £62(£75 for a weekend). If you are about to be charged any more than this to book your test I suggest that you ask yourself what you are getting for the extra money as the answer may be nothing. The official sites to book driving tests are www.dsa.gov.uk or www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest.

30/3/2010 Changes to the driving test

From the 6th April 2010 the DSA will be asking everyone on test if they want to take their instructor with them. Of course, if you want your instructor to go with you on a test then we will. This can be valuable for you as it allows the instructor to see how you perform on the test and give feedback.

From October 2010 the driving test will be changing fairly significantly. Test times will be increased and a new part of the test called ‘independent driving’ will be introduced. We expect that this will make the test harder than it is already and we will help anyone taking their test after this date to prepare for the new section. This is likely to involve additional lessons compared to the current average and also, although this is not confirmed yet, we expect that test fees will be increased. The DSA have now introduced guidance on how this will work. It will consist of around 10  minutes of independent driving. Candidates will be expected to follow a series of traffic signs to get towards a destination or be given a series of instructions to remember. Please watch the video below for more guidance. If you forget some of the directions it doesn’t matter as long as you drive safely.

http://sharing.govdelivery.com/bulletins/GD/UKDSA-D179E

12/02/2010 New Instructor and new services

We are pleased to welcome Kash to our team. Kash is based in Motherwell and will mainly be covering the Motherwell, Bellshill, Hamilton and Wishaw areas. Kash is able to speak Urdu and Punjabi as well as English and therefore we are pleased to announce that we can now offer lessons in some areas in these languages for those who struggle with English. He would also be able to act as a translator if necessary on your driving test.

30/11/2009 New instructor and expansion

We now have another new instructor and have expanded to Tyne and Wear. Craig Gordon will be based in Seaham and covers driving lessons in Gateshead, Sunderland, South Shields, Washington, Chester-le-Street and Seaham. He will be using a silver Ford Focus as his tuition vehicle

26/9/2009 Another new instructor

I am pleased to announce that we have another new instructor having had problems fitting in new customers due to our increasing success. George Stallard returned to us and will initially fulfill recent requests for intensive courses which we were finding it hard to cover and in the more long term will cover his local area in Airdrie and surrounding areas. This allows us to cover more of North Lanarkshire than we could previously.

29/8/2009 New cars

Stephannie and Peter have now got brand new Vauxhall Corsas for you all to learn in. These cars offer the latest features to make your learning experience more comfortable and safe, Including air-conditioning.

4/8/2009 New instructor

Due to continuing growth and success we have another new instructor. James has been an instructor for over six years and I am pleased to welcome him to the school. Based in Uddingston, he will cover the North and East End of Glasgow and the areas of South Lanarkshire around Uddingston and Cambuslang.

21/6/2009 Google search engine now live

There is now a Google search bar and search engine on the home page of this website. I have done this to provide you, our customers, more services when visiting the site. I am always looking for new ideas to keep people visiting so if you have any why not get in touch. Hopefully coming soon are live news and sport feeds. This will add to the other services we provide here such as car insurance searches, google search and car-related info and products. Why not make us your homepage if you like what we do??

17/05/2009 Stephannie is back!

We are pleased to announce that from 4th June 2009 we will once again be able to provide the option of a female instructor. After her maternity leave I am pleased to welcome Stephannie back. She will at first be only available Thursday and Friday due to childcare commitments. If you are not available those days though, then I’m sure her husband Peter or one of our other instructors can accommodate you.

03/05/2009 New areas covered

From 3rd May I’m pleased to announce that we will be covering more areas. This includes East Dunbartonshire and Cumbernauld. This will be done as we have a new instructor, Ian, who lives locally and is happy to serve you in these areas with his BMW Mini car

30/03/2009 DSA Test Fee increase

As from today the DSA have announced they will be increasing test fees. The new fees are £31 for theory and £62 for practical tests. This is for standard learner car tests. As a result our intensive course fees have been increased by the same amount to cover this difference and are therefore currently £642 for 30 hours and £452 for 20 hours

30/03/2009 DSA Test Fee increase

As from today the DSA have announced they will be increasing test fees. The new fees are £31 for theory and £62 for practical tests. This is for standard learner car tests. As a result our intensive course fees have been increased by the same amount to cover this difference and are therefore currently £642 for 30 hours and £452 for 20 hours

05/10/2007 New instructors confirmed to be starting next week

Due to the success of my driving school I am taking on two instructors starting next weekend. To offer you a greater choice of cars they will be driving the new Fiat Punto. These new instructors allow me to offer greater choice of courses such as Intensive and semi-intensive courses and also so I have greater capacity at peak times and a greater operating area. Anyone who I have had to turn away please contact me again as there is now more availability.

10/08/2007 Roof sign stolen

If anyone has heard anything of the whereabouts of my roof sign please let me know. It was stolen from my car overnight on Thursday 9th August. Anyone who finds it can get a free lesson or £10

01/08/2007 New prices now in operation

Please see prices section for more details. Those who started taking lessons before today will benefit from my Price Guarantee

27/07/2007 New Offer launched inconjunction with SKY and mobile phone contracts

Today, Simon announces that if you buy a contract mobile or SKY contract from the links on this site then you can recieve one free driving lesson in addition to any other offer you have taken up on this site and in addition to the offers given by the retailers themselves. For more details please click the link on the left hand side.

06/07/2007 – Simon reaches a 1/2 century of passes

On 5th July 2007 my 50th learner passed their driving test. I have helped 50 people achieve a driving licence in under 2 years of being a driving instructor since September 2005.

01/07/2007 – Lesson price increase from 1st August 2007

Today, 1st July 2007, I have announced that my lesson prices will be increasing as follows from 1st August 2007. Single lessons and all block booking options will increase by the equivilent of £1 per lesson. A single lesson will cost £21, blocks of five will increase by £5, blocks of ten will increase by £10. In line with my advertised price guarantee current pupils and pupils enrolling before 31st July will not be affected by this price change. The price change is necessary due to increases in my business expenses, the cost of living and local market forces. This is the first time I have increased my prices fin two years of being an instructor and remains very competitive in comparison to other local driving schools and national schools.

02/05/2007 – New BMW Mini tuition car now in use