For many people, learning to drive is a long term strategy. Weekly lessons, perhaps two per week initially, to build up a thorough understanding of how to drive, not to mention the time it takes to learn the material needed to pass the theory test. For some people this is not the most practical method. According to Department of Transport figures, it takes the average learner, taking lessons once a week, an average of fourteen months to get to the point where they can take a test. If you have never driven a car before it can be quite difficult familiarising yourself with car controls, and then you have to wait another week before you can go through the process again. Without practice in between, this can be quite a daunting process. there may be occasions where you need to pass much more quickly. Perhaps that job comes up you always wanted, which may require you to have a driving licence. Or, you may have some time booked of that you can use to maximum effect to get as much learned as possible. There is also the possibility that learning on a weekly basis is just not the best way for you to learn, personally.

One option is to get the whole learning to drive experience out of the way in an intensive residential driving course. These courses offer you the chance to learn the complete theory and practical course within the space of a week. This culminates in a taking a test at the end of the weeks training. If you have already passed part of the course, you can tailor the course to suit your requirements. Pas rates for residential courses are int he region of 70%, as opposed to 43% for all types of driver training Obviously, this does mean that you pay for the course of lessons in a shorter space of time also, so bear in mind that there may be a substantial pay out involved, but this also needs to be seen within the context of how much you would actually pay out within the space of a fourteen month period for individual lessons.

Residential courses also different methods of learning. Some courses offer training methods used by the police and armed forces. They use both one to one and shared learning. The theory is that using smaller thirty or sixty minutes with rests in between allow the learner to absorb material more quickly. Also, watching other people in the group is often a quicker method of learning than being taught individually. The added advantage of an intense training course is that you can reinforce you learning much more quickly by repeating the learning much sooner with practical training. Waiting a week to try out the skills you learnt the previous week, also often involves re learning your previous weeks training. Prices for residential courses can vary depending on what your needs are. Courses can vary between two and seven days. It will usually include training on motorway driving. One to one training as supposed to shared training can increase the price. A full seven day course of one to one training can cost in the region of £1100 – £1200, whilst you can pay approximately £750 for shared training. You can reduce the cost of the intense training if you do not require accommodation. It is worth bearing in mind that the test fee may not be included in the price.