Intensive or not Intensive

The flavour of the month seems to be for learners to want 'intensive' driving courses. I am currently running a couple at the moment, but you have to be careful as not everyone will benefit from an intensive course.
My definition of an 'Intensive' driving course is anyone doing more than 6 hours of lessons per week. It should also have the Practical Driving Test booked and waiting only a few days after the course.
Intensive courses are not for everyone, as you need to be of a positive nature to learn quickly from your mistakes. Learning to drive can be stressful at the best of times, so it takes determination and strong nerves to improve and learn from one's mistakes.
If you are a person who likes to have a rest between lessons to think about what happened and for any constructive advice to sink in, then an intensive course may not be for you.
I can fully understand the fears of pupils who do not want to keep having lessons week in. week out for what seems to be years, so there are alternatives to a fully 'intensive' course that may work better:

• Your biggest problem is that you cannot book your Practical driving test until you have passed your Theory test. The Theory test is likely to be 3+ weeks after your booking, so start to drive as soon as you can (when you have your provisional license of course). You can start with just 1 or two hours per week and then train for your Theory test in the same time. Once you have passed it, book up your Practical test and keep the hours going in. If you need more, talk to your instructor or twist your parent's arms to get you driving with them. The Practical test will be in another 4-8 weeks time (depending on the test location), making a possible 12-15 weeks from start to finish. Over this time, there are likely to be cancellations that will help you take the test earlier - word of warning!!! Always consult with your instructor to see if they agree to the move.
  
• Same as above, but schedule in more hours up to the Practical test so you are really on top of your game.
• A true 'Intensive'. Leave your driving lessons until you have passed your Theory & booked your Practical & get as many lessons as you can into the time you have allowed yourself - a bit risky as you only have a finite amount of time to play with. Some people thrive on the pressure.

Whichever way you choose to play it - ask around, see what an instructor is willing to do to help you. GT Driving School (www.gtdrivingschool.net) can provide free theory test training in the way of a CD/ROM and/or the use of a Nintendo DS 'game'. They also provide a comprehensive set of prompt sheets that will help you revise your driving. Talk to GT Driving School by going to my website http://www.gtdrivingschool.net or call 07906 302910 for more information.