Hi all.
I’ve just passed my theory last week and now it’s time to start looking into the practical (class2) and maybe I shouldn’t have but I’ve read some right horror stories on here about the Manchester test centres namely Atherton and Bredbury with such comments as the examiner was a total nutjob and a silly amount of roundabouts/tight turns etc etc.
I also believe the pass rates are some of the lowest around too.
Should I go to Scotland for test day 
Thoughts/advice??
Ta.
Have you considered the forum sponsor who have their own test centre on site 
More locally - do you have a trainer who has their own test centre
Red Rose could be an option
I used Red Rose and would recommend them.
ROG:
Have you considered the forum sponsor who have their own test centre on siteMore locally - do you have a trainer who has their own test centre
Red Rose could be an option
Sorry ROG, maybe I should have mentioned I am doing a fully funded course but I have a input in which test centre to use and that’s about it!
sixfoottwo:
Hi all.I’ve just passed my theory last week and now it’s time to start looking into the practical (class2) and maybe I shouldn’t have but I’ve read some right horror stories on here about the Manchester test centres namely Atherton and Bredbury with such comments as the examiner was a total nutjob and a silly amount of roundabouts/tight turns etc etc.
I also believe the pass rates are some of the lowest around too.
Should I go to Scotland for test day
Thoughts/advice??
Ta.
Did my training in Manchester with Enterprise, can strongly recommend them. They use Bredbury so all my lessons were between Cheadle, Stockport, Bredbury & Denton.
YES the area has a ton of small roads, tight corners & roundabouts. Personally I saw this as good, as I felt learning to drive in such tight spaces made me a better driver.
TEST CENTRE (Bredbury)
My first examiner was a knob, wasn’t very friendly, which put my on edge and failed my for an unavoidable sharp breaking at a junction which caught him off guard because he wasn’t paying attention.
My Second examiner was a nice guy, very friendly, put my at ease. I passed with only a few minors.
One issue I had was, I live in Warrington so had no geographic knoweage of the area around Bredbury, which I found a bit of an issue as EVERY road & junction was new & unfamiliar. I had now idea of the lane layout or size of any of the junctions. In hindsight I think doing your lessons & Test in an area your familiar with would make things easier.
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sixfoottwo:
Hi all.
I’ve read some right horror stories on here about the Manchester test centres namely Atherton and Bredbury with such comments as the examiner was a total nutjob and a silly amount of roundabouts/tight turns etc etc.
Don’t listen to the “pub talk”! Yes, examiners can differ in personality, but that’s just human nature. They should all be conducting the assessment in exactly the same fashion.
DVSA have set test routes, the examiners can deviate from them slightly but if it is unsuitable for test conditions then generally it won’t be used. However, in the eyes of the DVSA, a road is a road - if you can drive to test conditions in Manchester then you should be able to drive to the same standard anywhere from Land’s End to John O Groats.
Good luck!
trevorking1964:
I used Red Rose and would recommend them.
I second that, got my class 1 with them about 4 years ago when after an assessment they recommended I only needed 10 hours training, so it only cost me around £750, happy days.
WideWolf:
sixfoottwo:
Hi all.I’ve just passed my theory last week and now it’s time to start looking into the practical (class2) and maybe I shouldn’t have but I’ve read some right horror stories on here about the Manchester test centres namely Atherton and Bredbury with such comments as the examiner was a total nutjob and a silly amount of roundabouts/tight turns etc etc.
I also believe the pass rates are some of the lowest around too.
Should I go to Scotland for test day
Thoughts/advice??
Ta.
Did my training in Manchester with Enterprise, can strongly recommend them. They use Bredbury so all my lessons were between Cheadle, Stockport, Bredbury & Denton.
YES the area has a ton of small roads, tight corners & roundabouts. Personally I saw this as good, as I felt learning to drive in such tight spaces made me a better driver.
TEST CENTRE (Bredbury)
My first examiner was a knob, wasn’t very friendly, which put my on edge and failed my for an unavoidable sharp breaking at a junction which caught him off guard because he wasn’t paying attention.My Second examiner was a nice guy, very friendly, put my at ease. I passed with only a few minors.
One issue I had was, I live in Warrington so had no geographic knoweage of the area around Bredbury, which I found a bit of an issue as EVERY road & junction was new & unfamiliar. I had now idea of the lane layout or size of any of the junctions. In hindsight I think doing your lessons & Test in an area your familiar with would make things easier.
Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk
Yep that’s the bit I don’t like!
I live in Altrincham, around 8 miles from Manchester city centre and I would much prefer to have it around here as bring familiar with the roads and ‘problem spots’ can only help.
I am guessing once you do the lessons you will cover the test route areas anyway.
Thanks all for the replies btw.
sixfoottwo:
but I’ve read some right horror stories on here about the Manchester test centres namely Atherton and Bredbury with such comments as the examiner was a total nutjob and a silly amount of roundabouts/tight turns etc etc.I also believe the pass rates are some of the lowest around too.
I would ignore comments like that full stop. No one who passes is prone to complaining, so these comments are most likely from people who failed and are looking for someone other than themselves to blame.
Pass rates do not show first time pass rates only overall pass rates
100 tests
50 pass first time = 50 tests
10 pass second time = 20 tests
10 pass third time = 30 tests
That would be a pass rate of 70%
I passed first time at Atherton, nice examiner. Some of the roads are a bit tight but if you can’t master them you probably aren’t ready
jonathan_dyane:
I passed first time at Atherton, nice examiner. Some of the roads are a bit tight but if you can’t master them you probably aren’t ready
Congrats mate, just found out today Atherton is going to be the test centre, any tips or ‘problem’ areas to watch out for?
The training company is called Driving Lives in Bolton.
sixfoottwo:
jonathan_dyane:
I passed first time at Atherton, nice examiner. Some of the roads are a bit tight but if you can’t master them you probably aren’t readyCongrats mate, just found out today Atherton is going to be the test centre, any tips or ‘problem’ areas to watch out for?
The training company is called Driving Lives in Bolton.
I passed with Red Rose at Atherton back in 2011. Not sure if it’s still the same but one of the issues I had was the guide dog place opposite the test centre. They would randomly put up fake zebra crossings on the road outside the test centre as part of their training exercises. The area you cover in training is huge though so you’ll be taken all over.
Quick update.
Passed today with 3 minors which I am annoyed about as I thought it was a faultless run! 1 for footbrake control and 2 for signalling.
Mod 4 tomorrow.
Thanks for the replies.
Congratulations
Cheers Lads.
Mod 4 passed scored 100% but I guess nobody can fail that!!
Easy part starts now… finding a job as a new pass 
Good luck. Can be done.
sixfoottwo:
I’ve read some right horror stories on here about the Manchester test centres namely Atherton and Bredbury with such comments as the examiner was a total nutjob and a silly amount of roundabouts/tight turns etc etc.
Bredbury was OK for me,no issues…“roundabouts/tight turns”…that is what you’ll be doing once passed
sixfoottwo:
… finding a job as a new pass
this is the issue,most will employ only experienced drivers
