Hampshire · London & the South East
Southampton (Forest Hills) driving test centre
50% of car practical tests taken at Southampton (Forest Hills) passed in 2021-22, from 4,823 tests. Pass rates, local road types and how we prepare you for this centre.
Southampton (Forest Hills) pass rates
Pass rate 2021-22
50%
2,411 passes
National average
48.9%
+1.1 points here
Tests conducted
4,823
about 402 a month
Best published year
50%
2021-22
4,823 car practical tests were taken at Southampton (Forest Hills) in 2021-22. 50% passed, 1.1 percentage points above the national average of 48.9%. It is up on 2019-20, when 47.3% passed.
The rate has stayed within 2.7 points across the published years, between 47.3% and 50%. In 2021-22 the rate was 55.8% for male candidates and 44.6% for female candidates. That works out at roughly 402 tests a month, which is what waiting times at Southampton (Forest Hills) depend on more than the pass rate does.
- Southampton (Forest Hills)
- National average
| Year | Tests | Passes | Pass rate | National | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 4,823 | 2,411 | 50% | 48.9% | 55.8% | 44.6% |
| 2019-20 | 5,430 | 2,569 | 47.3% | 45.9% | 52.4% | 42.8% |
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 Southampton (Forest Hills) 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 Southampton (Forest Hills)
Tests from Southampton (Forest Hills) run mostly on shopping-street traffic, national-speed-limit link roads and hilly residential turns. Those road types sit close together, so several of them can appear in the first ten minutes.
Progress is marked as well as caution: hanging back on clear A-road stretches reads as hesitancy. The route often loops out past the edge of town before returning through the centre. If your lessons have been in a different part of Hampshire, plan at least a couple of sessions on these roads before the test.
Southampton (Forest Hills) covers learners in and around Southampton, and it is where most of our Southampton 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 Southampton (Forest Hills) say the driving was fine and the pressure was not.
Roads you are likely to meet
Shopping-street traffic
National-speed-limit link roads
Hilly residential turns
- Progress is marked as well as caution: hanging back on clear A-road stretches reads as hesitancy.
- The route often loops out past the edge of town before returning through the centre.
- If your lessons have been in a different part of Hampshire, plan at least a couple of sessions on these roads before the test.
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 Southampton (Forest Hills)
Hill starts and control
Roll-back is one of the fastest ways to pick up a serious fault here. Practise moving away uphill with the handbrake until it feels automatic.
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.
How we prepare you for this centre
Practice where you will be marked
Your instructor works the roads around Southampton (Forest Hills) in the sessions before your test — shopping-street traffic included — not generic estate roads.
A marked mock run
Run silently and scored properly — no coaching mid-drive — then debriefed fault by fault.
Manoeuvres to standard
Bay park, parallel park, pull up on the right and forward bay — rehearsed on live roads near the centre rather than an empty car park.
Everything around the drive
Paperwork, show me / tell me questions and the independent drive, run through in advance.
Courses that suit test-centre prep
Southampton (Forest Hills) test centre FAQs
What are the test routes like at Southampton (Forest Hills)?
The DVSA stopped publishing official routes, and examiners vary them. In practice, routes from Southampton (Forest Hills) draw on shopping-street traffic, national-speed-limit link roads, hilly residential turns, so those are the conditions to rehearse rather than a fixed sequence of streets.
What do learners most often fail on at Southampton (Forest Hills)?
hill starts and control, priority on narrow streets — all of which come directly from the road types on the local network.
Can I take an intensive course and test at Southampton (Forest Hills)?
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 Southampton (Forest Hills) or a nearby centre serving Southampton.
How do I book a practical test at Southampton (Forest Hills)?
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 do I need to bring to Southampton (Forest Hills)?
Aim to be there ten minutes before your slot with your provisional licence. Your instructor will normally use the half hour beforehand for a warm-up drive on nearby roads rather than sitting in the car park.
Does Southampton (Forest Hills) have a good pass rate?
Travelling for a higher published pass rate usually backfires: you arrive tired, on roads you have never driven. Preparing properly for Southampton (Forest Hills) is the better use of the same hours.
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.