Northampton

Situated in Gladstone Business Centre, Northampton test centre is a 10 minute drive from the city centre. It can be found on Gladstone Road, not too far from the bustling A5095. You’ll spot a range of other local businesses in the nearby area, so make sure you’re prepared to deal with heavy traffic during rush hour. Unless you like the idea of going into your driving test completely blind, you might want to take some time to familiarise yourself with Northampton. You can do so by looking at our essential test centre guide below—including directionspass ratestest routes and much more!


Address

Gladstone Business Centre Gladstone Road Northampton Northamptonshire NN5 7QA

Tests Offered at Northampton

  • Car
  • ADI part 2
  • ADI part 3

Parking

There are parking spaces available

Toilets

Male and female toilets are available

Disabled Access

You can get into the test centre in a wheelchair

Phone Number

0160 4751277

Check the book your driving test service for availability.

How To Get There

If you’re a learner driver living in Northampton, you’ve got an extremely easy journey to your local test centre. Simply get onto the A428, turn onto Gladstone Road and there you are! How easy is that?! Don’t start flapping if you’re located further out in Northamptonshire. The proximity of A roads like the A508, A4500 and A45 mean that you can get to Northampton test centre without any faffing about. If it’s your first time heading to the test centre, make sure you use these directions with your sat nav. You don’t want to get lost on your way there!

A Bit More About Northampton

As you’ll learn further below, the practical test itself follows a relatively basic format. It essentially boils down to you following a test route to the best of your ability. Now, your examiner will try to make use of all the challenging road features that Northampton has to offer. For starters, you’re minutes away from the town centre, so it will most definitely show up on your test. This means you’ll likely face a lot of stop-start traffic, so make sure your clutch control is up to snuff!  You’ll also want to pay close attention to changes in speed limits as you progress through different traffic systems.

Things will start to slow down a bit as the examiner guides you towards the residential areas closest to the test centre. It’s here that you’ll have to demonstrate one of the reversing manoeuvres, or at a car park chosen by the examiner. You may even have to demonstrate an emergency stop. Keep your eyes peeled for any stray pedestrians or cyclists in these areas!

Want to know more about Northampton beyond the driving test? Read up on these resources:

Northampton Test Route

If you’re anything like our other learners, you’ve probably spent a good hour trying to find your Northampton test route. Like them, however, you’ve likely come up short. Why? The DVSA doesn’t publish its routes anymore. This measure was brought in to stop learners from spending too much time memorising routes, instead of focusing on ironing out their bad habits and perfecting their skills. Your route doesn’t have to be a complete mystery, however. Get a vague idea of what to expect by watching videos of Northampton test routes on YouTube, or by downloading our sample Northampton driving test routes.

Still feeling nervous? If you take driving lessons with a local instructor, they’ll have you building up your skills on the very same roads that are likely to crop up on your test route. By the time you take your practical, you’ll probably know the area better than your examiner!

Northampton Test Pass Rates

One of the main ways in which learners try to gauge how well they’ll do on their test is by looking at pass rates. That’s why we’ve spent a lot of time and effort carefully compiling all sorts of driving test-related statistics on our blog. From manual vs automatic pass rates to pass rates by county to the average number of attempts it takes to pass the test, we’ve got it all! So, if you’re looking to do a stats deep dive, head on over to our blog.

If you’re pressed for time, we’ll make things simple for you. Learner drivers in the UK have a 45.9% chance of passing their driving test. If you’re heading to Northampton test centre, you can look at its pass rates from the last five years in the table below…

2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
50.1% 52.8% 51.2% 48.7% 44.8%

With pass rates well above the national average in most years, there’s not much to complain about with Northampton test centre. Of course, that’s not to say that you can just put your feet up and relax. You’ve got to actually put in the work in order to pass your driving test. Don’t rely on pass rates—they won’t help you get your hands on a full driving licence.

What If I Can’t Go To Northampton?

There are plenty of reasons as to why a learner might decide to change test centres. If you’ve failed your test at the same centre more than once, you might want a change in scenery. Or, if you’re looking to get your hands on that all-important test date, it’s always a good idea to pick a back-up option. Whatever your reason is, you’ll be pleased to hear that you’ve got plenty of options. The closest centres to Northampton are Kettering and Wellingborough.

What To Expect On The Day

A few weeks ago, you were a complete newbie to the world of driving. You couldn’t tell which pedals were which and you were stalling every two seconds. Now, your clutch control is a thing of beauty and your hazard perception skills bring tears of joy to your instructor’s eyes. You’re finally ready to overcome the last hurdle in your learning journey: the driving test.

As eager as you might be to step out of your front door and make your way to your appointment, you’ve first got to make sure you’ve got your provisional licence. You won’t be able to take your test without it, so don’t forget! You’ll also need to be careful with your timing—you want to get there 10 minutes before it’s supposed to start.

The test itself will follow this basic structure:

  • 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

(If that’s not enough detail for you, you’ll want to head on over to our rundown of exactly what happens in a driving test.)

Your driving test will finally be at an end once the examiner leads you back to Northampton test centre. They’ll ask you to park the car and turn off the ignition. You’ll then need to wait a few minutes for them to complete their paperwork. Then, they’ll tell you your result and walk you through any mistakes you might have made along the way. Don’t worry if this goes over your head. You’ll get a rundown of your faults in either a physical feedback sheet or an email sent via the driving test app.

But What If I Fail?

Worried about failing your test? Though it can certainly be a disheartening experience, it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Plenty of learners fail the driving test (in case the pass rates didn’t clue you in), so if it happens to you, don’t let it get you down. Instead, get back behind the wheel and try again. There’s always a next time with the driving test.

Before you go in for another attempt, you might find it useful to take a refresher course with a local ADI. This will give you time to work on the areas you picked up the most faults in. If you want to get your hands on a particular test date, get PassMeFast to book you a fast-track practical test as well. Once you’re ready to book in, give us a bell on 0333 123 4949, or contact us online.

Improve Your Chances With PassMeFast

Fed up of basic driving lessons? Not picking up driving skills as quickly as you’d like? You might want to consider trying out an intensive driving course instead. PassMeFast’s courses, for example, give you the chance to build up your experience and skills quickly and efficiently. Whether you’re looking to fit lessons in around a busy schedule, or have a free week, we can accommodate you. We’ll match you up with an instructor in Northamptonshire and also give you your own CX Adviser who will sort out all the admin work for you. Your lessons will last between 2 to 5 hours at a time, and you’ll even get picked up and dropped off at home or at work!

To get a better idea of what’s on offer, check out our course prices page. If you want even more information, you can give our driving courses rundown a read. Once you’ve picked out a course, you can book in over the phone on 0333 123 4949, or book online.

Can’t figure out how many hours you actually need? If you’ve had lessons in the past, it can be difficult to pick out the best course. If you need some advice or a recommendation, give us a call and one of our sales advisors will be more than happy to help. Alternatively, answer a few simple questions and our course recommender will give you your ideal course!