So, an early start for Brandon today, with his driving test booked for 8am at Basildon Test Centre. Originally, his test wasn't scheduled until February 2027, but luckily he managed to grab a cancellation and bring it forward.
Brandon has come a long way since those dark, cold and wet winter evenings back in February, when I'd take him over to the little Tesco car park to experience the joys of learner-driver clutch control and the inevitable kangarooing! 😂 It feels like a lifetime ago now.
I've felt he was ready for his test for some time, although if anything, he's starting to remind me a little of Joshua by becoming slightly overconfident on the road. I keep having to remind him to back off by about 10% and not get too carried away!
His examiner was a lady called Sarah, who seemed really nice and friendly, which hopefully helped put him at ease. Like Joshua, Brandon has been pretty much self-taught, with Tina and me doing the bulk of the teaching. He'd only had two professional driving lessons in the week leading up to his test, mainly as a confidence booster and to make sure we hadn't accidentally taught him any bad habits!
In hindsight, I'm not sure the timing of those lessons was ideal. His lesson last night was quite strict, which was probably exactly what he needed ahead of the test, but it didn't go particularly well. It was dark, he was driving an unfamiliar car, and I felt he came away from the lesson with his confidence knocked a little. I wasn't convinced his head was in the best place going into the test this morning, but there was nothing more we could do except hope for the best.
As with Joshua, I then had the nerve-racking experience of a 30–40-minute wait while Brandon was out on his test. It's absolutely horrible sitting there knowing your child is being assessed, having absolutely no idea how they're getting on and being completely helpless. Naturally, I resorted to tracking him on Life360, as though watching a little dot moving around Basildon was somehow going to make the whole experience less stressful! 😂
After around 30 minutes, Brandon pulled back into the test centre, and I immediately feared he'd messed it all up at the final hurdle. He'd been asked to reverse park, something he's normally very good at, but this time he'd touched the kerb and had to nudge forward to correct himself. He did the same again on his second attempt before finally nailing it on the third — although apparently managing to crunch the gears in the process!
At this point, I was preparing myself for the worst, but thankfully, the parking drama hadn't been enough to undo all his good work. He'd demonstrated that he was a safe and competent driver, and I'm absolutely delighted to say that Brandon passed his driving test first time! 🎉🚗
I'm absolutely thrilled for him and incredibly proud. It's brilliant to see how far he's come in such a short space of time, from kangarooing around a supermarket car park to earning his driving licence.
As for me, well, my record as a driving instructor now stands at two pupils, two first-time passes — a 100% success rate! 😎
No pressure on Holly when her turn comes around in a few years' time, then! 😂
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| And he is off taking his test in Tina's Ecosport, nothing I can do but wait nervously. |
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| Should have never been in doubt, he smashed it. |
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| 1st time pass and now 4 out of the 5 in the house are drivers. |
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