About 1st Class Driver Training
1st Class Driver Training was formed in Hove over 25 years ago by Andy Clark. Andy had previously trained and qualified as an instructor with Delta School of Motoring in 1987 before deciding to break away and form his own company at the beginning of 1989 – this followed his sister and brother-in-law who had been teaching as instructors since 1979. Since qualifying as an instructor, Andy has appeared on radio and given talks at colleges about driver safety issues, and has spent time teaching in West Africa.
Our Instructors are fully qualified (ADIs) who are all Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checked and who are legally required by the Driver Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) to undergo regular Standards Check to maintain Instructional Standards and be allowed to continue to instruct. Upon initial introduction, our instructors will present their instructors’ licence as identification.
Our Instructors have all been specially selected to work for 1st Class Driver Training based on their calm and patient natures, relaxed yet informative styles of instruction, together with a passion for working on a one-to-one basis with our clients.
We also provide Intensive Courses, Instructor Training, Corporate Fleet Assessments and Private Hire Licence Training for newly qualified taxi drivers. We are proud that over the last few years we have also provided training through the Job Centre for governmental initiatives such as Working Links and local government services such as The 16 Plus Support Team (formerly the Leaving Care Service).
Driving is a skill that is life-changing, rewarding and ultimately enjoyable experience – so top quality tuition that is individually tailored to each learner is essential. At 1st Class Driver Training we are committed to producing courteous, thinking drivers for today and tomorrow.
Article from The Evening Argus, 1993 detailing record test pass
Record Breaker!
In 1993 Andy taught Danny Seales, 17, intensively over two days before taking and passing his practical driving test on his first attempt. Danny had only had minimal experience in a car with a friend before his course with Andy began.
Andy: “Danny was a professional windsurfer, and as such had great coordination, timing and a good mixture of confidence and a certain amount of fearlessness which transferred well when it came to driving – a good example was how he approached learning roundabouts by being able to decode the activity on them but at the same time almost ignore what was around him and deal with such busy junctions… a real ability that you don’t encounter in new drivers that often.”
The Driving Standards Agency described Danny’s pass as ‘amazing’ and had never before heard of such a rapid test success.