Sussex driving centre named among the top ten in the UK for highest first-time pass rates - and the second best in England

Insurance broker One Sure Insurance analysed public driving test data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) between April 2022 and April 2023, to determine which test centres have the highest rate of drivers passing their practical test first time.

Test centres with fewer than 100 recorded driving test attempts, or insufficient data were excluded from the final results.

Chichester in West Sussex finished in tenth place with 64.5 per cent of drivers passing their test first time. There were 2,632 first time passes out of 4,081 first time attempts between 2022 and 2023.

In England, only Alnwick had a higher first-time pass rate (69.2 per cent). The town in Northumberland finished eighth overall.

Peebles in Scotland had the UK’s highest first-time pass rate for learner drivers at 78.1 per cent.

Locations in Scotland completed the full list.

One Sure Insurance said that, when looking nationally at more than 800,000 driving tests conducted between 2022 and 2023, male drivers were ‘slightly more likely’ to pass first time than female drivers. The rate stood at 51.6 per cent for men, compared to 46.9 per cent for women.

Chris Lear, managing director at One Sure Insurance, said: “These findings offer great insight into the areas where learner drivers are most likely to pass their driving test for the first time, with many rural Scottish towns dominating the top spots.

“There are a number of factors that can influence a test centre’s pass rates. Less densely populated highstreets, fewer cars on the roads and less complicated junctions, can often make it less stressful for learner drivers taking their test in rural towns, compared to those being assessed in more built-up urban areas.

“Learners taking tests at these centres may also benefit from having spent more time practicing on quieter roads outside of their regular driving lessons, which can help build up their confidence when it comes time to take their practical test.”