Driving lesson questions, answered

A single automatic lesson with East London Learners is £36.50 an hour. Blocks bring that down to £35.00 an hour: £175 for 5 hours, £350 for 10 hours and £525 for 15 hours.

There is no joining fee and no contract. Prices are published on the site so you never have to ring round for a quote.

No — East London Learners is automatic only. Chris teaches exclusively in an automatic car, which means every lesson, every route and every mock test is built around automatic driving.

For most learners that's an advantage: without a clutch to think about, you spend your lesson time on observation, road position and judgement, which is what the test actually assesses.

It depends entirely on where you're starting from. The figure the DVSA is most often quoted on is around 45 hours of professional tuition plus roughly 22 hours of private practice — but that is an average across manual and automatic learners, and plenty of people need fewer.

Chris will give you an honest estimate after your first lesson, and he'll tell you if you don't need a bigger block.

Yes. If you already have a test date, or you need to be driving quickly for work, an intensive course compresses your hours into a shorter run of longer lessons.

Message Chris with your test date and he'll tell you honestly whether it's realistic before you book.

Yes. When you're close to test standard, Chris runs a full mock test on realistic routes near your test centre — Wanstead, Barking or Goodmayes — marked the way an examiner would mark it.

It's the single most useful thing you can do in the fortnight before your test. A mock is included with the 10 and 15 hour blocks once you're at the right level.

Wanstead, Barking and Goodmayes. Chris will recommend the one that suits your driving and your postcode, and you'll practise on the kind of roads those examiners use.

Yes. Door-to-door pick-up and drop-off is included anywhere in the covered postcodes — E6, E7, E11, E12, E13, E15, E16, E20, IG1, IG2, IG3, IG4, IG11, RM8. Home, work, college or the station, whichever is easiest.

A modern automatic Mercedes A-Class — reversing camera, digital display and a smooth automatic gearbox. It's a comfortable, easy car to learn in, and it's the same car you'll practise your manoeuvres in every week.

An automatic-only licence. It lets you drive any automatic car unsupervised. If you later want to drive a manual, you'd need to take a practical test again in a manual car.

With most new cars now automatic or electric, this is far less of a limitation than it used to be.

Chris works around shifts and college timetables where he can. Send him the days and times you're actually free on WhatsApp and he'll tell you straight away what's available — no back-and-forth.

Not at all — it's one of the most common reasons people choose an automatic. Without a clutch and gears to worry about, nervous learners usually settle far quicker.

Chris has been teaching in East London for 15 years and starts nervous learners on quiet residential roads, moving to busier routes only when you're ready.

Message Chris on WhatsApp or give him a call. Tell him roughly where you are, whether you've driven before, and when you're free. He'll come back with availability and an honest view of what you need.