Nottinghamshire · Midlands
Nottingham (Colwick) driving test centre
46.4% of car practical tests taken at Nottingham (Colwick) passed in 2025-26, from 15,150 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Nottingham (Colwick) pass rates
Pass rate 2025-26
46.4%
7,032 passes
National average
50%
-3.6 points here
Tests conducted
15,150
about 1,263 a month
Best published year
48.5%
2021-22
15,150 car practical tests were taken at Nottingham (Colwick) in 2025-26. 46.4% passed, 3.6 percentage points below the national average of 50%. It is up on 2019-20, when 44.6% passed.
The rate has stayed within 3.9 points across the published years, between 44.6% and 48.5%. That works out at roughly 1,263 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Nottingham (Colwick) depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Nottingham (Colwick)
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 15,150 | 7,032 | 46.4% | 50% | 45.8% | 47.3% |
| 2024-25 | 11,849 | 5,395 | 45.5% | 48.7% | 45.3% | 45.8% |
| 2023-24 | 10,453 | 4,737 | 45.3% | 47.9% | 46% | 44.4% |
| 2022-23 | 9,323 | 4,443 | 47.7% | 48.4% | 48.5% | 46.6% |
| 2021-22 | 7,957 | 3,862 | 48.5% | 48.9% | 50.7% | 46.2% |
| 2019-20 | 8,584 | 3,831 | 44.6% | 45.9% | 47% | 42.4% |
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 Nottingham (Colwick) 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 Nottingham (Colwick)
Routes out of Nottingham (Colwick) use the roads around the centre: industrial estate, dual carriageway and suburban hills. Each of them is marked differently, which is why the last few hours of tuition are worked around the centre.
Tram crossings can appear on longer routes.
Nottingham (Colwick) covers learners in and around Nottingham, and it is where most of our Nottingham 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.
The aim is simple: nothing on the drive should be new on the day.
Roads you are likely to meet
Industrial estate
Dual carriageway
Suburban hills
- Tram crossings can appear on longer routes.
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 Nottingham (Colwick)
Priority on narrow streets
The recurring fault is stopping in the gap rather than before it, then having nowhere to go when something comes the other way.
Positioning near HGVs
Wide turns from goods vehicles need room. Stopping short at the junction line is the habit that avoids the fault.
Joining and leaving at speed
Build up to the speed of the traffic on the slip road rather than emerging slowly, and check the mirror–blind spot pair before every lane change.
Clutch control on gradients
On a gradient the margin for a slipped biting point disappears. Handbrake held until the car is genuinely pulling, every time.
How we prepare you for this centre
Local route practice
The last hours of your course are spent on industrial estate and dual carriageway 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 Nottingham 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
Nottingham (Colwick) test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Nottingham (Colwick)?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Nottingham (Colwick) draw on industrial estate, dual carriageway, suburban hills, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Nottingham (Colwick)?
priority on narrow streets, positioning near hgvs, joining and leaving at speed, clutch control on gradients — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Nottingham (Colwick)?
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 Nottingham (Colwick) or a nearby centre serving Nottingham.
How do I book a practical test at Nottingham (Colwick)?
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.
What happens when I get to Nottingham (Colwick)?
Arrive with your provisional licence and a car that is legal, insured for the test and has no warning lights showing. We handle that side if you use one of our instructors' cars.
Is Nottingham (Colwick) an easy test centre?
Pass rates are published by the DVSA, but they say more about the mix of candidates than the difficulty of the routes. Practising the road types above will move your odds more than switching centres.
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.