Better Luck Next Time

Sadly I will not be teaching people to ‘drive excellently’ any time soon, for I failed my Part 3. 

*sigh*

Actually whilst disappointed I am not upset because it was such a new experience, an unknown exam of the sort never experienced beore so if I had passed first time it would have been a miracle!  I actually did pretty well.  Let me elaborate…

The part 3 test takes 1 hour, each half of which sees the examiner take on a student persona, firstly as a ‘phase 1′ very new learner then as a ‘phase 2′ experienced-near test or fully licensed refresher learner.  There are 10 pre-set tests of pairs of topics to teach these learners.  I had PreSet Test 9  which is Phase 1 – Crossroads and Phase 2 – Pedestrian Crossings/Use of Signals.  In phase 1 you teach the skill from scratch, in phase 2 they have learnt the skill but are having problems with it which you must spot and rectify.  Within all the ’student’ will also make errors which you, as the instructor, are require to Identify, Analyse and Remedy – these are the Core Competencies.   Within this there are 3 levels of instruction, Guided, Prompted and Independent which you, as instructor, must use as appropriate.  The marking is 1-6, with 1-3 fails and 4-6 passes.  I got a 4 for Phase 1 and a 3 for Phase 2.  Apparently this is unusual as more people tend to pass the Phase 1 and fail the Phase 2.  I also got 4 for my attitude and approach which miffed me a bit ‘cos I am really nice!  Which may be the problem actually!

Basically I let myself get distracted by the many errors Rebecca Tulip (my Examiner, from Barnsley Text Centre) included and ended up trying to sort those out forgetting to teach the main topic, in the phase 1 section.  As Becky said (that’s what people seem to call her) she was a very new learner and therefore will make lots of errors so I should not let myself get so distracted, she needs me to teach the core topic as this is what she is marking me on.  I also completely missed the many times she went over the give way or stop lines at a junction, I genuinely could not tell she was doing this, which may be a height issue so I am going to go out and work out the view for me in the passenger seat regarding line positioning.  Finally I missed the reason for her stalling the car more than once, I thought it was incorrect clutch and accelerator/brake control, in fact she was in the wrong gear when trying to move off.  WHAT AN IDIOT I AM!!!  In general I need to be firmer in my instructions, less verbose and more curt.  It’s not rudeness, it’s fitting it all in whilst on the move.

So I wouldn’t have passed me based on all that!  Becky’s feedback was excellent though, and it was she with whom I passed my part 2 driving test so well first time.  She gave me excellent feedback and as a result I did not cry or get upset, but feel happy I can work on these issues and pass next time.

So I have to re-take the entire test again (it will be the 2nd of the 3 permitted tries).  Thank Goodness for my gorgeous sister who has paid the fee as an early birthday present for me (3 months early!).  I am going to re-take on 11th March at Sheffield’s Handsworth Test Centre.  I could not get into Barnsley at a time soon enough for me and also when a Car from Instructor College was available for me to borrow.  It’s a shame as I hope Ms Tulip does not think I am avoiding her (like she’ll even notice) but time is of the essence so…

Keep everything crossed people, and as for those who will be my pretend students… we’ll be getting busy very shortly!

Update – test date has been altered to 13th March by Sheffield Test Centre – am hoping College have a car I can borrow then!