Bristol · South West
Bristol (Kingswood) driving test centre
51.9% of car practical tests taken at Bristol (Kingswood) passed in 2025-26, from 14,863 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Bristol (Kingswood) pass rates
Pass rate 2025-26
51.9%
7,719 passes
National average
50%
+1.9 points here
Tests conducted
14,863
about 1,239 a month
Best published year
54.3%
2019-20
14,863 car practical tests were taken at Bristol (Kingswood) in 2025-26. 51.9% passed, 1.9 percentage points above the national average of 50%. That is down from 54.3% in 2019-20.
The rate has stayed within 2.4 points across the published years, between 51.9% and 54.3%. That works out at roughly 1,239 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Bristol (Kingswood) depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Bristol (Kingswood)
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 14,863 | 7,719 | 51.9% | 50% | 51.8% | 52.1% |
| 2024-25 | 11,483 | 5,968 | 52% | 48.7% | 51.3% | 52.9% |
| 2023-24 | 12,259 | 6,474 | 52.8% | 47.9% | 52.7% | 52.9% |
| 2022-23 | 9,844 | 5,306 | 53.9% | 48.4% | 54.3% | 53.4% |
| 2021-22 | 10,683 | 5,786 | 54.2% | 48.9% | 55.7% | 52.5% |
| 2019-20 | 6,662 | 3,620 | 54.3% | 45.9% | 58.3% | 50.5% |
Source: DVSA table DRT122A, car practical driving test pass rates by test centre, published on GOV.UK. Figures are financial years running April to March.
Where Bristol (Kingswood) test centre is
Arrive ten minutes early and park where you can pull out easily. The waiting room is small at most centres, so your instructor will normally wait in the car park while you take the test.
Driving out of Bristol (Kingswood)
The local network around Bristol (Kingswood) is hilly residential, busy high streets and ring road, and test routes are built from it. You cannot cover that range on one street, so the pre-test sessions move between them.
Hill starts and parked-car navigation dominate.
Bristol (Kingswood) covers learners in and around Bristol, and it is where most of our Bristol course students sit the test. If you are choosing between centres, practise the road types listed above rather than picking on pass-rate figures alone.
Most learners who retake at Bristol (Kingswood) say the driving was fine and the pressure was not.
Roads you are likely to meet
Hilly residential
Busy high streets
Ring road
- Hill starts and parked-car navigation dominate.
Test routes are no longer published by the DVSA, and examiners vary them. Treat this as a guide to the local road types rather than a route list. Book your test and check availability on GOV.UK.
Where marks are lost at Bristol (Kingswood)
Moving off uphill
Stopping on a hill is the easy half. The marked half is moving away again without rolling back into the car behind.
Meeting traffic and clearance
Whose priority it is, how much room you leave for parked cars, and whether you wait in a safe place — all marked closely on these streets.
Looking further ahead
Crossings, delivery vans and doors opening: the examiner is judging whether you saw it coming, not how quickly you braked.
One-way systems and box junctions
The fault here is almost always a late lane change under pressure, forcing someone else to brake.
How we prepare you for this centre
Local route practice
The last hours of your course are spent on hilly residential and busy high streets near the centre, because that is what the examiner will put you on.
One rehearsal, examiner-style
Marked the way an examiner marks it, on a Bristol route, with a written debrief of every fault.
All four manoeuvres
Every manoeuvre practised with traffic present, because that is the version that appears on the day.
Test-day rehearsal
Licence and theory certificate checked, show me / tell me covered, and the sat-nav section practised before the day.
Courses that suit test-centre prep
Bristol (Kingswood) test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Bristol (Kingswood)?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Bristol (Kingswood) draw on hilly residential, busy high streets, ring road, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Bristol (Kingswood)?
moving off uphill, meeting traffic and clearance, looking further ahead, one-way systems and box junctions — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Bristol (Kingswood)?
Yes. We match you with a DVSA approved instructor who teaches on these roads day to day, and we look for the earliest practical slot at Bristol (Kingswood) or a nearby centre serving Bristol.
How do I book a practical test at Bristol (Kingswood)?
Practical tests are booked through GOV.UK with your provisional licence and theory certificate numbers. We can check cancellations for you once your course dates are set.
How early should I arrive at Bristol (Kingswood)?
Ten minutes early is enough. Bring your provisional licence; the eyesight check happens outside before you get in the car, so know which plate you can read.
Should I travel to a different centre instead?
We will not sell you a pass rate. Published DVSA figures reflect who books there as much as the roads, and a centre an hour away that you cannot practise around is a worse bet than the one your instructor drives every week.
Not sure how many hours you need?
Answer four quick questions and we will recommend a course based on your experience, not a sales target.