Free guides for our pupils — and everyone else
Everything you need between now and your licence.
Provisional licence, theory test, the practical, and what happens after you pass. Written by a DVSA-approved driving school in Tolworth whose instructors teach the Tolworth and Morden test routes every week.
Getting started
Three things have to be in place before your first lesson. None of them takes long.
Provisional licence
You can apply from 15 years and 9 months old, and drive a car from your 17th birthday. Apply on GOV.UK — it usually arrives within a couple of weeks. Bring it to every lesson.
Eyesight standard
You must be able to read a number plate from 20 metres, with glasses or contact lenses if you need them. Your examiner will test this before you drive. Fail it and the test ends there.
Tell us anything relevant
Medical conditions, medication, anxiety, previous lessons, a test you have already failed — all of it helps us teach you properly. Nothing you say changes how we treat you.
The theory test
Two parts, taken in one sitting. You need to pass both on the same day. Your pass certificate is valid for two years — if you don't pass the practical in that window, you sit the theory again. Book it early.
Multiple choice
50 questions, and you need 43 right. Drawn from the Highway Code, road signs, vehicle safety and driving in different conditions. Most people who fail have revised the signs but not the attitude questions.
Hazard perception
14 video clips containing 15 scoreable developing hazards. You need 44 out of 75. This is the part people underestimate — clicking wildly scores zero for that clip, so practise the timing rather than the spotting.
How to revise
- Read the Highway Code properly, once, end to end
- Use the official DVSA app or Safe Driving for Life
- Do hazard perception practice on a laptop, not a phone
- Ask your instructor to quiz you during lessons
The practical test
Around 40 minutes of driving. You can make up to 15 driving faults and still pass — 16 or more, or any single serious or dangerous fault, and you don't.
What happens
Eyesight check, then a "tell me" safety question before you set off and a "show me" question while driving. Then general driving, one reversing manoeuvre, possibly a controlled stop, and about 20 minutes of independent driving following a sat nav or road signs.
The manoeuvres
- Parallel park at the roadside
- Park in a bay — drive in and reverse out, or reverse in and drive out
- Pull up on the right, reverse two car lengths, rejoin traffic
You'll be asked to do one of them. We teach all of them.
Where people lose it
- Observation at junctions — the single most common serious fault
- Not moving off when it's safe to do so
- Wrong lane on a roundabout
- Speed — too slow counts against you as well as too fast
- Mirrors before signalling, not after
Show me, tell me — all 21 questions
The examiner asks you two of these: one “tell me” before you drive off, and one “show me” while you’re driving. Get either wrong and it’s a single driving fault — it won’t fail you on its own. What will fail you is losing control of the car while doing the “show me”.
Our advice: learn where every control is by feel, so you never have to look down. Tap a question to see the answer.
‘Tell me’ questions — asked before you drive
You explain the check out loud. You don’t physically do it — except questions 12, 13 and 14, where the examiner asks you to open the bonnet.
T1Tell me how you'd check that the brakes are working before starting a journey.
They shouldn't feel spongy or slack. Test them as you move off, and the car shouldn't pull to one side.
T2Tell me where you'd find the information for the recommended tyre pressures for this car and how tyre pressures should be checked.
In the manufacturer's handbook, and usually on a sticker inside the driver's door frame or fuel flap. Use a reliable gauge, check when the tyres are cold, don't forget the spare, and refit the valve caps.
T3Tell me how you make sure your head restraint is correctly adjusted so it provides the best protection in the event of a crash.
The rigid part should be at least as high as your eyes or the top of your ears, and as close to the back of your head as is comfortable. Some head restraints aren't adjustable.
T4Tell me how you'd check the tyres to ensure that they have sufficient tread depth and that their general condition is safe to use on the road.
No cuts or bulges, and at least 1.6mm of tread across the central three-quarters of the tyre and all the way round it.
T5Tell me how you'd check that the headlights and tail lights are working. You don't need to exit the vehicle.
Turn on the ignition if needed, operate the light switch, then walk round the car to check. You only have to explain this — you don't actually do it.
T6Tell me how you'd know if there was a problem with your anti-lock braking system.
A warning light on the dashboard would come on.
T7Tell me how you'd check the direction indicators are working. You don't need to exit the vehicle.
Turn on the ignition if needed, operate the indicator switch or hazards, then walk round the car. Again, explain only.
T8Tell me how you'd check the brake lights are working on this car.
Press the brake pedal and look for the reflection in a window, a wall or a garage door — or ask someone to stand behind and check.
T9Tell me how you'd check the power-assisted steering is working before starting a journey.
Put gentle pressure on the wheel as you start the engine — you should feel it give slightly as the system kicks in. Or turn the wheel just after moving off. If the steering feels heavy, something's wrong.
T10Tell me how you'd switch on the rear fog light(s) and explain when you'd use it/them. You don't need to exit the vehicle.
Turn on the ignition and dipped headlights, then operate the fog light switch and check the warning light comes on. Use them only when visibility drops below 100 metres, and switch them off when it improves — they dazzle drivers behind you.
T11Tell me how you switch your headlight from dipped to main beam and explain how you'd know the main beam is on.
Push or pull the light stalk with the ignition or engine on. The blue main beam warning light on the dashboard tells you it's on.
T12Open the bonnet and tell me how you'd check that the engine has sufficient oil.
Find the dipstick, pull it out, wipe it clean, put it back fully, pull it out again and read the level — it should sit between the minimum and maximum markers.
T13Open the bonnet and tell me how you'd check that the engine has sufficient engine coolant.
Find the header tank and check the level against the high and low markings on the side. Top up to the correct level, and only with the engine cold.
T14Open the bonnet and tell me how you'd check that you have a safe level of hydraulic brake fluid.
Find the brake fluid reservoir and check the level sits between the high and low markings.
‘Show me’ questions — asked while you’re driving
You physically operate the control, when it’s safe. Eyes stay on the road. If you’re not sure it’s safe yet, say so and do it when it is — that’s good driving, not hesitation.
S1When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you wash and clean the rear windscreen?
Operate the rear washer and wiper — usually by pushing or twisting the wiper stalk.
S2When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you wash and clean the front windscreen?
Pull or press the washer control so the screenwash sprays and the wipers run.
S3When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd switch on your dipped headlights?
Turn the light switch round to the dipped headlight position.
S4When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd set the rear demister?
Press the rear demister button — the one with the rectangle and wavy upward arrows.
S5When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd operate the horn?
Press the centre of the steering wheel. Do it briefly — a long blast in a residential street is its own problem.
S6When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd demist the front windscreen?
Direct the airflow to the windscreen, turn the temperature and fan up, and use the air conditioning or front demist button if fitted.
S7When it's safe to do so, can you show me how you'd open and close the side window?
Use the window switch on the door, and close it again straight after.
Questions reproduced from the DVSA publication “Car ‘show me, tell me’ vehicle safety questions” under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright. Answers written by our instructors.
Ready to Pass?
The DVSA’s official campaign helping learners work out whether they’re genuinely ready for the test — rather than just impatient for one.
48 out of every 100 driving tests in Great Britain were failed in June 2026.
That figure isn’t there to frighten you. It’s there because most of those failures were avoidable — people took the test before they were ready, usually because the waiting list made the date feel too precious to give up.
The five-point readiness check
The DVSA says you’re usually ready to take your test when:
- You don’t need prompts from your instructor.
- You don’t make serious or dangerous mistakes when driving.
- You can pass mock driving tests.
- You’ve practised ways of managing your nerves.
- Your instructor agrees you’re ready.
All five, not three or four. We use the same list. If you ask us whether you’re ready and the honest answer is no, we’ll tell you — and we’d rather move your test than take your money for a test you’ll fail.
The 27 skills
Ready to Pass? sets out the 27 individual skills you develop with an instructor, from moving off safely to dealing with complex junctions. It doubles as a progress tracker: you and your instructor mark each skill as you go, which turns “am I nearly there?” into something you can actually see.
Mock tests
A mock test on real examiner routes, marked exactly as the DVSA would mark it, is the single most reliable indicator of readiness. We run these at both Tolworth and Morden as standard before we’ll agree you’re test-ready.
Test nerves
Nerves are not a character flaw and they are not rare. The campaign has practical techniques for managing them, and so do we — a warm-up drive on the morning, a familiar route to start, and knowing exactly what the first five minutes will involve.
What changed in 2026 — read this before you book
- You can now only make 2 changes to your test appointment after booking.
- Only the learner may book, change, swap or cancel their own test. Not a parent, not an instructor, not an app.
- You can only move your test to one of the 3 nearest test centres.
- Changing is free if you do it at least 10 full working days (Monday to Saturday) before the test.
Avoid unofficial booking apps. Services promising earlier cancellations often breach DVSA rules, and can get your test cancelled outright or your details misused. Book and change your test only on GOV.UK.
Ready to Pass? is a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency campaign. Content summarised under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright. Kings Driving Centre is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the DVSA.
Your local test centres
Both sit inside our teaching area, and we run lessons and mock tests on their routes every week.
Tolworth
Douglas House, 1B Douglas Road, Tolworth KT6 7RZExpect Tolworth Roundabout, the A3 Kingston Bypass and the A240 Kingston Road. Fast dual carriageway joins and multi-lane roundabouts are the theme here. The test centre car park cannot be used for practice, so we rehearse bay parking off-site.
Morden
10 Tudor Drive, Morden SM4 4PEExpect the St Helier estate grid, Green Lane, the Rose Hill roundabout and the A24. More junction density and residential decision-making than Tolworth, and less high-speed work.
Test day checklist
Turning up without the right documents is the most avoidable way to lose a test slot and the fee with it.
- Your provisional driving licence (photocard)
- Your theory test pass certificate number
- Glasses or contact lenses, if you need them to read a number plate at 20 metres
- A car that is taxed, insured for the test, roadworthy and displaying L plates — ours, if you have booked test cover
- Arrive 10 minutes early, not 30 — sitting waiting makes nerves worse
- Eat something beforehand
- A warm-up drive on local roads first (we include this with test cover)
After you pass
The first six months on your own are statistically the most dangerous driving you will ever do. A little more training goes a long way.
Pass Plus
A DVSA-backed course covering motorways, dual carriageways, night and rural driving. No test at the end. Some insurers offer a discount for it — check with yours before booking.
Motorway lessons
Learners can now take motorway lessons with an approved instructor in a dual-controlled car, but most people pass without ever having driven on one. We cover the A3 and M25.
Insurance and your first car
Telematics or "black box" policies usually cost far less for new drivers. Insurance groups matter more than the car's price — a cheap car in a high group can cost more to insure than a dearer one in a low group.
Official links
Everything below is GOV.UK. Book directly — third-party sites charge a fee for doing the same thing.
Ready to get started?
Tell us your postcode and whether you want automatic or manual, and we'll come back with an instructor, a time, and an honest estimate of the hours you need.
Book your first lessonOr call 020 3143 1718 · in**@*******************co.uk
