Poole

Learner drivers can find Poole test centre on Harwell Road, right in the middle of the bustling Nuffield Industrial Estate. A 10-minute drive from the town centre, Poole test centre is small enough that you’ve likely gone past it without even realising! If you want to give yourself the best chance, you’ll want to get to know as much about Poole test centre as possible. You can do this by checking out our essential test centre guide below—from directions to pass rates to test routes, we’ve got it all!


Address

4 - 20 Harwell Road Nuffield Industrial Estate Poole Dorset BH17 0SA

Tests Offered at Poole

  • Car
  • Motorcycle module 1
  • Motorcycle module 2
  • Lorries, large vehicles and buses
  • ADI part 3

Parking

There are parking spaces at this centre

Toilets

Male and female toilets are available

Disabled Access

Phone Number

0120 2673716

Check the book your driving test service for availability.

How To Get There

If you live close to the town centre, you’ll need to get onto the A350 and follow it until the turn onto the A349. Next, turn onto Willis Way and then Fleets Lane. You’ll need to follow the roundabout onto Nuffield Road and continue onwards until you reach Harwell Road. And there you go! If you live further afield, don’t worry too much. There are plenty of A roads that make it easy to head to Poole test centre—from the A35 to the A38. If you’ve not got the best memory, or don’t feel comfortable following road signs just yet, dig out a trusty sat nav and follow these directions.

A Bit More About Poole

If you’re taking your practical at Poole test centre, it’s vital that you get to know the area. Why? It will be the staging ground for your test. The examiner will make use of a variety of quiet, busy and challenging road types in order to test how ready you are to take to the roads unsupervised. Right outside the industrial estate, there’s the A3049. It will likely feature on your test, and, due to the high number of roundabouts scattered along it, you’ll want to make sure you’re comfortable approaching and emerging from roundabouts. Eventually, the examiner will probably take you around the town centre. You won’t have any time to enjoy the view though! There’s bound to be a lot of foot and road traffic, so you’ll need to be on your toes.

It’s not all high speeds and thrills on your test. Your test route will, at some point, take you to a quiet residential area so that you can demonstrate one of the manoeuvres. (The roads around Upper Parkstone are ideal for this.)

Want to know more about Poole’s public transport or local history? Check out these resources:

Poole Test Route

Before 2010, learner drivers could download their potential test routes in order to prepare for their driving tests. Surprisingly, this had a detrimental effect on their learning. Instead of focusing their efforts on refining their skills, learners instead spent their time memorising routes. Now that test routes are no longer published, however, learners are able to place their attention on what really matters: familiarising themselves with the local area and building up their driving experience. Of course, if you still want a rough idea of what to expect, you can watch videos of Poole test routes on YouTube, or download our sample Poole driving test routes.

Poole Test Pass Rates

If there’s one thing that PassMeFast loves almost as much as helping learners get their full driving licence, it’s statistics. That’s why we keep a close eye out for the DVSA’s latest statistics. The minute they’re updated, we’re there—going through each stat with a fine-tooth comb to see if there are any standout trends. If this is something that interests you too, head on over to the PassMeFast blog. From the average number of attempts it takes to pass the test to driving test pass rates by area, we’ve got it all!

If you’re pressed for time, or you simply don’t like stats, we’ll keep things short. Learner drivers in the UK currently have a 45.9% chance of passing their practical. As for learners biting the bullet at Poole, check out the test centre’s pass rates from the last few years in the table below...

2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
- 54.5% 56.3% 57.4% 52.8%

With pass rates well over the national average within the last few years, there’s not much to complain about with Poole test centre. As comforting as this might be, however, try not to get too carried away. You can’t simply depend on good pass rates to get you through the driving test. You will need to put in the effort in order to get the outcome you want. So, pay close attention to your instructor’s feedback during your lessons

What If I Can’t Go To Poole?

With how long DVSA waiting times can be, learners sometimes have to wait weeks, or even months to get a test date at their chosen test centre. It’s for this reason that we often urge learners to pick a backup test centre. By doing so, you can increase your chances of getting an earlier test date. If this is the case with you, the closest test centre to Poole is Dorchester.

What To Expect On The Day

After spending hours toiling over clutch control and those pesky roundabouts, it’s finally time for you to put your skills to the test. If you don’t feel 100% ready (and not many learners do), it might help you to know that your instructor wouldn’t let you go in for your  test if they didn’t feel like you were ready. Plus, if you’ve completed 40 plus hours of lessons, you’re more than prepared for whatever will come your way.

Before you dash out of your front door, check your pockets or bag to make sure you have your provisional licence. Without it, you won’t be able to take your driving test. So save yourself the disappointment by checking before you leave. To make sure you’ve got plenty of time to park up and meet your driving examiner, you’ll want to get to Poole test centre 10 minutes before your appointment starts.

Your test will then follow this format:

  • An eyesight test, where you’ll need to read a number plate from a distance of 20 metres
  • Two “show me, tell me” questions covering vehicle safety and maintenance
  • Twenty minutes of general driving, where you’ll be guided by the examiner, and will also need to perform one of the following manoeuvres:
  • Twenty minutes of independent driving, during which you’ll either follow sat nav directions or sign posts to reach a set destination

After driving for forty minutes under the watchful eye of your examiner, you’ll be guided back to Poole test centre. Once you’ve parked up, you can let out a sigh of relief. You’ve finished the test and now all you have to do is wait a few minutes for the examiner to complete their paperwork. You’ll then find out whether you were successful or not. To allow you the chance to look at which areas you picked up faults in, the examiner will give you a physical feedback sheet, or send you an email via the driving test app.

But What If I Fail?

In case you’re not familiar with the process, upon failing your test, you’ll have to wait 10 working days until you can take another test. Though you wouldn’t think it, there are advantages to failing the test—now, you know what the test structure is like and you’re also familiar with the feeling of having an examiner watch your every move. As long as you work on the areas you picked up faults in, you’ll be more than prepared for your next attempt!

If you’re in need of a confidence boost or advice on ironing out a bad driving habit, your best bet is to take a refresher course. Then, once you’re ready, get PassMeFast to fast-track your test so that you’re not dealing with long waiting times. To get the ball rolling today, give us a bell on 0333 123 4949, or contact us online.

Improve Your Chances With PassMeFast

If you’re looking to get your full driving licence quickly, PassMeFast could very well be the driving school for you. Our intensive and semi-intensive courses are available across Dorset and are completely flexible. No matter how busy you are, you and your instructor will fit your lessons around your schedule. Lessons can be taken in 2 to 5 hour blocks, so, depending on your availability and preferences, your course could be completed in weeks, or even days! Even better, we’ll fast-track your test to speed up the process even more!

Interested? Take the first step on your learning journey by looking at our crash course packages over on our course prices page. If you’re looking for full descriptions and videos, our driving courses rundown should do the trick. Once you’ve picked out your course, book it in online or over the phone on 0333 123 4949.

If you can’t decide how many hours you need to get test-ready, why not talk to one of our sales advisors over the phone? They’re more than happy to offer their professional opinion to learners. If you’d prefer a speedier approach, however, you could always try out our course recommender tool!