‘Block driving lessons’ is a term that driving instructors use to allow learner drivers to book several driving lessons in one go. For example, the learner can block book a specific number of lessons that they can afford, or they may choose to block book the entire driving course based on the amount of lessons that the instructor has recommended.
What Are the Benefits of Block Driving Lessons?
There are two main advantages to block booking driving lessons:
- Block booking driving lessons usually saves you money
- Block booking driving lessons allows you to plan your lessons in advance
Is it cheaper to Block Book Driving Lessons?
Almost all driving schools offer financial incentives for block booking driving lessons. Driving schools typically offer a discount when blocks of 10 driving lessons or more are booked. The amount of discount received varies by driving school. If you intend on block booking 20 lessons, or indeed the full driving course, you may be able to negotiate even greater savings.
Plan Your Driving Lessons in Advance by Block Booking
Driving instructors are often busy with diaries fully booked for weeks. The benefit of block booking driving lessons means that you can secure a consistent lesson (usually one lesson or more per week), well into the future.
It’s important to remain consistent with driving lessons as doing so means you’ll continually learn at a steady rate. The last thing you want is to try and book your next lesson with your instructor and they can’t fit you in for weeks.
Do You Have to Pay for Block Booked Lessons All At Once?
In order to receive the financial discounts from block driving lessons, you’ll usually need to pay for all the lessons you’ve booked up front. However, most driving instructors will allow you to book individual driving lessons in advance without having to pay for them all up front.
How Many Driving Lessons Should I Block Book?
This depends on your ability to learn and how good your driving instructor is. Some learner drivers are capable of passing the driving test extremely quickly, from no driving experience to a test pass in around 20 hours.
On average however, it takes around 45 hours of professional driving tuition, plus around an additional 20 hours of private practice to achieve a test pass. Some learners may require longer.
To gain a good understanding of how many driving lessons you’ll need to block book, your driving instructor will be able to provide you with a reasonably accurate figure after an initial assessment lesson.
How Much is a Block of Driving Lessons?
Driving school prices vary depending on location, so the price you’ll pay on a block of lessons depends on how much a normal lesson is. Let’s compare prices with the average cost of a driving lesson in the UK at £25 per hour.
If you pay for individual lessons, 10 of these will cost £250. If you blocked booked 10 hours and received a discount of £2 per lesson, you’ll save £20. If you required 45 hours of driving lessons and block booked them in increments of 10 hours, you would save a total of £90, so it is worth block booking driving lessons.
Are There any Other Ways to Save Money on Driving Lessons?
As well as the price of standard driving lessons plus the discount you’ll receive by block booking, many driving schools also offer either a free or reduced price first lesson.