Paul Williams (Gloucester) Driving Test Centre
The Paul Williams (Gloucester) driving test centre is located in Paul Williams Walk, Wales (CF11 8GA). 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
1.6K passed, 656 failed, 2.3K total
How Paul Williams (Gloucester) compares
Paul Williams (Gloucester) 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 Paul Williams (Gloucester) ranks among 152 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 Paul Williams (Gloucester) have remained broadly stable through recent reporting periods. Booking is comparatively quick: learners booking at Paul Williams (Gloucester) typically wait around 9 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
Tests offered at Paul Williams (Gloucester)
- HGV/LGV
For other test types at this location, search the DVSA centre finder with postcode CF11 8GA.
Accessibility & facilities
Parking, toilets, and disabled-access details vary by centre. Check the official DVSA find a driving test centre tool with postcode CF11 8GA, or call DVSA Customer Services on 0300 200 1122.
About this test centre
Drivers booked at Paul Williams (Gloucester) report to a DVSA centre in Paul Williams Walk, Cardiff, postcode CF11 8GA. The hgv/lgv routes used here are drawn from the streets the centre's examiners drive every week, so the test reflects local conditions rather than a generic syllabus. Across 2014-15-2022-23 the centre handled 2.3K tests, a modest sample. The aggregated multi-year figure on this page is the most reliable read; quarterly swings deserve more skepticism here than at a high-volume centre.
By raw pass rate Paul Williams (Gloucester) sits at 71.3%, with the DVSA's national hgv/lgv average over the same window running at 48.7%. The gap (22.6 points clear of the UK figure) places the centre at rank #28 of 152, inside the top quarter of the country's hgv/lgv test centres. First-attempt data for Paul Williams (Gloucester) is missing from the DVSA's DRT122C release. It's not a low number, it's no number, the centre is small enough that DVSA omits it from that particular table.
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 Paul Williams (Gloucester)
- Above-average pass rate at Paul Williams (Gloucester) doesn't mean above-average ease. The fundamentals examiners mark are the same nationally: junctions, mirrors, observation, signal timing. A 65%+ pass rate means more candidates clear those, not that the bar is lower.
- Practising the test routes is the single thing that most reliably moves a candidate's pass odds. Most ADI instructors in Paul Williams Walk will have a working knowledge of which routes Paul Williams (Gloucester) uses.
- Book through the official DVSA service (gov.uk/book-driving-test). Third-party "fast-track" sites charge a premium for the same booking; the DVSA's own cancellation feed is free.
Other test centres nearby
On the day at Paul Williams (Gloucester)
Aim to be at Paul Williams (Gloucester) ten minutes early. Because parking and waiting facilities are not the same at every DVSA centre, check the approach on the DVSA centre finder (postcode CF11 8GA) before the day. At moderate demand and about 9 weeks' wait, securing a convenient date here is usually less of a scramble. The examiner needs to see your provisional photocard licence to begin, and the car you bring must be roadworthy, fitted with L plates and a working interior mirror. If Cardiff (Llanishen) is fully booked, Paul Williams (Gloucester) is the next closest centre, roughly 2 miles away.
Plan for a drive of roughly 40 minutes, identical in structure to every other DVSA centre. First comes the 20-metre eyesight check and a pair of vehicle-safety questions, one show-me, one tell-me, then the examiner joins you for the road section. About 20 minutes is independent driving by sat nav or by following signs to a named target, you tackle one of four set manoeuvres, and around a third of candidates get an emergency stop. 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; 71.3% of candidates at Paul Williams (Gloucester) currently clear that.
Frequently asked questions
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How does Paul Williams (Gloucester) compare to the UK average?
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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: 2022-23.