Driving Lessons Portsmouth

Learning to Drive in Portsmouth

The national average driving lessons required to pass the practical driving test is 47 hours with a driving instructor and an additional 22 hours of private practice with a family or friend are recommended.

Portsmouth’s Driving Test pass rate compared to other cities across the UK is similar to the national average sitting at 49.7%.

The test centres in Portsmouth are Opposite Fort Southwick which has a pass rate of 49.7%, Lee on the Solent at 64.8%, Newport with 50.3%, and Southampton which has a pass rate of 42.0%,

The nearest additional driving test centres for Portsmouth are in Chichester with 61.9%, Winchester with 51.1%, Basinstoke with 61.4% and Lancing which has a lower pass rate of 56.2%

Portsmouth’s Practical Driving Test Centres

• Basingstoke, (Portsmouth), Brighton Hill Centre, Basingstoke RG22 4LR
• Chichester, (Portsmouth), (wheelchair accessible), York House, City Fields Business Park, City Fields Way, Chichester PO20 2FR
• Lancing, (Portsmouth), 49 Chartwell Road, Lancing Business Park, Lancing, BN15 8TU
• Lee on the Solent, (Portsmouth), The Richard Sainsbury Building, Daedalus Argus Gate Daedalus Drive, Lee on the Solent PO13 13 9JY
• Maybush, (Portsmouth), (wheelchair accessible), Green Lane, Maybush, Southampton SO16 9FP
• Newport, Isle of Wight, (Portsmouth), Innovation Centre, St Cross Business Park, Newport, Newport PO30 5WB
• Portsmouth, (Portsmouth), Opposite Fort Southwick, James Callaghan Drive, Portsmouth PO17 6AR
• Winchester, (Portsmouth), (wheelchair accessible), Christchurch, Winchester, SO23 9SY

Portsmouth’s Theory Test Centres

• Chichester, (Portsmouth), Ground Floor, Metro House, Northgate, Chichester PO19 1BE
• Fareham, (Southampton), Ground Floor, Thackery House, 189 – 199 West Street, Fareham PO16 0EN
• Newport, Isle of Wight, (Southampton), Ground Floor, 48 Lugley Street, Newport, Isle of Wight PO30 5HD
• Portsmouth, (Southampton), Ground Floor Annex, Enterprise House, Isambard Brunel Road, Portsmouth PO1 2RX

Quick Links

• Book your driving test
• Book your Theory Test
• Change your driving test appointment
• Driving test: cars

Portsmouth’s – did you know?

1. There are several possible sources for Portsmouth’s nickname, Pompey. Some believe it’s the result of drunken slurs by sailors passing through the city, others that it is from the French ship ‘La Pompee’ captures in Portsmouth’s waters in 1793 and a third is the abbreviation used in ships logs for Porstmouth; Pom. P.
2. Portsmouth is a popular city name in the US, Portland, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia and Rhode Island all have their own Portsmouth, but none are quite the same as our Portsmouth on the south coast of the UK.
3. Portsmouth is the world’s oldest dry dock where many different fruits and vegetables pass through on their way to other places, including Jersey potatoes, Moroccan oranges and lemons and about 70% of all bananas sold in the UK.
4. Arnold Schwarzenegger once called Portsmouth home and had a membership at Southsea Gym.
5. Portsmouth’s population is even more dense than highly populated London! Over 200,000 people live within the 15.54 square miles of the city.
6. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth and used his childhood memories of the city to help form the settings of his novel Nicholas Nickleby.
7. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, worked in Plymouth as a doctor and wrote fiction on the side of caring for his patients.
8. Portsmouth’s Gosport Ferry dates back to the early 1800s when it was a simple double-ended rowing boat known as a Wherry. Today the Gosport Ferry carries up to 297 passengers per trip between Gosport and Portsmouth.
9. Messum’s Court, the road from Prospect Row to St Mary’s Street in Old Portsmouth, was once known as Squeeze Gut Alley thanks to the very narrow eastern end.
10. The first fully naked, centrefold model for a magazine was Marilyn Cole. The British model harks from Portsmouth and was awarded Playmate of the Year by Playboy.