Kendal (Oxenholme Road) Driving Test Centre
The Kendal (Oxenholme Road) driving test centre is located in Heron Hill, England (LA9 7RL). Below are the official pass-rate statistics, multi-year trend, demographic breakdown, and how this centre compares against the UK average and its neighbours, all drawn from the DVSA quarterly statistical release.
Pass vs fail at a glance
12.6K passed, 7.0K failed, 19.6K total
How Kendal (Oxenholme Road) compares
Kendal (Oxenholme Road) performs well above the UK average. Learners passing here are more likely to pass than at most other UK centres, though this can also reflect quieter test routes and fewer challenging junctions.
Where Kendal (Oxenholme Road) ranks among 323 centres
Pass-rate trend by year
Most common faults at this centre
The fault categories most frequently recorded against learners on test. Knowing them lets you target practice on the things examiners are most likely to penalise.
- 1Junctions - observation10
- 2Mirrors - change direction9
- 3Move off - safely8
- 4Junctions - turning right7
- 5Response to signs - traffic lights6
Per-centre fault breakdowns are derived from the DVSA national fault distribution applied to centre-level test outcomes.
Pass rate by demographic
Estimated wait time and demand
Wait times at Kendal (Oxenholme Road) have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is achievable but not immediate: learners booking at Kendal (Oxenholme Road) typically wait around 14 weeks from booking to test day.
Wait time is estimated from regional demand patterns reported in the National Audit Office investigation into car driving test waiting times (Dec 2024) and the DVSA Despatch blog updates, combined with this centre's test volume. Real availability fluctuates with examiner staffing and cancellations, always check the official DVSA booking service for live slots.
Centre details
Address
Source: DVSA find a driving test centre (Open Government Licence v3.0), captured 2026-05-12.
Tests offered at Kendal (Oxenholme Road)
- car
- ADI part 2
- ADI part 3
Accessibility & facilities
Parking and toilet details aren't included in DVSA's published feed. For the current on-site facilities, check the DVSA find a driving test centre tool with postcode LA9 7RL, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Kendal (Oxenholme Road) sits in Heron Hill, Westmorland and Furness, just inside the LA9 7RL postcode. It's a DVSA-run car test centre, and the routes from here work outward into the streets and arterial roads that learners from Heron Hill tend to know already. Kendal (Oxenholme Road) sees moderate volume: 19.6K practical tests through 2017-18-2024-25. Year-on-year percentages here are meaningful, but watch the trend line rather than fixating on any single period.
64.8% at Kendal (Oxenholme Road), against a UK car average of 48.7%. That puts the centre 16.1 points clear of the national figure and ranks it #23 of 323 car centres in the DVSA's network. First-attempt pass rate at Kendal (Oxenholme Road): 68.5%, against 49% nationally. That's a 19.5-point lead. Well-prepared candidates with no prior test attempts pass here at a noticeably higher rate than the UK average.
All figures shown are aggregated from the DVSA quarterly statistical release covering the most recent reporting periods available. Pass-rate calculations exclude tests cancelled by the candidate or examiner. Sample sizes and methodology are described in the source attribution at the foot of this page.
What learners should know about Kendal (Oxenholme Road)
- Kendal (Oxenholme Road) passes higher than the UK average, but the marking sheet is identical to every other DVSA centre. The bias is in the routes (less traffic, simpler junction geometry); the standard is national.
- 68.5% of first-timers pass at Kendal (Oxenholme Road). If your instructor is signing you off as test-ready, that figure is a fair guide, the centre isn't the variable, your preparation is.
- Ask any instructor working Kendal (Oxenholme Road) about the centre's "usual fails", they'll have two or three specific junctions or manoeuvres in mind. Practise those until they're automatic before your date.
- The only legitimate booking route is gov.uk. Anything calling itself a "test booking concierge" is reselling the same slots at a markup, the slots aren't theirs to control.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Kendal (Oxenholme Road)
Arrive at Kendal (Oxenholme Road) with about ten minutes to spare and know your parking options in advance, they vary site to site across the DVSA network. The DVSA centre finder (postcode LA9 7RL) maps the centre and its surroundings. With high demand and waits near 14 weeks, take any earlier slot the booking service offers rather than holding out. Don't set off without your provisional photocard licence; the test cannot start without it, and your car needs L plates and a working interior mirror.
Once underway the test takes around 40 minutes and is the same wherever you sit it. The examiner verifies your eyesight at 20 metres, puts one show-me and one tell-me question to you, then accompanies the drive. About 20 minutes is independent driving, sat nav or road signs to a named destination, with one of four set manoeuvres and an emergency stop on roughly one test in three. The drive covers the local mix of road types within roughly a twenty-minute radius of the centre. Across recent DVSA marking, the fault logged most often at this centre is junctions - observation, worth drilling on the local routes before your date.
There is no wait for the verdict, the examiner delivers it at the centre. They go over each fault recorded, hand you the DL25 feedback form, and on a pass retain your provisional licence so the full version arrives by post. To pass you need no more than 15 driving faults and not a single serious or dangerous one; 64.8% of candidates at Kendal (Oxenholme Road) currently clear that. Candidates on their first attempt clear that bar more often here, 68.5% against the 64.8% overall figure.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass rate at Kendal (Oxenholme Road)?
Is Kendal (Oxenholme Road) an easy or hard test centre?
How does Kendal (Oxenholme Road) compare to the UK average?
How many tests are taken at Kendal (Oxenholme Road) each year?
Which driving test centres are near Kendal (Oxenholme Road)?
When is the best time to book a test at Kendal (Oxenholme Road)?
How do I book a test at Kendal (Oxenholme Road) and what do I need?
How long is the wait for a driving test at Kendal (Oxenholme Road)?
Data: DVSA quarterly statistical release, released under the Open Government Licence v3.0. PassRates.uk aggregates DVSA centre-level totals across reporting periods.
Edited by Vikas. DVSA data period: 2024-25.