England, Driving test centres

Driving Test Pass Rates in Atherton

Atherton has 4 DVSA driving test centres with a volume-weighted average car pass rate of 44.4% 4.3 pp below the UK national average of 48.7%. The full ranking, gender split, first-time pass rate and centre-by-centre data is below.

Centres
4
in Atherton
Avg car pass rate
44.4%
-4.3 pp vs UK
UK average
48.7%
national benchmark
Total tests
119.0K
lifetime, all centres

About Atherton

Atherton is an English city served by a sizeable concentration of 4 DVSA practical driving test centres. Together, these centres have processed 119.0K tests on record, every result tracked here is sourced from the DVSA's quarterly statistical release and aggregated to give a like-for-like view of how each centre performs.

As a whole, Atherton sits a little below the UK average. The city-wide car pass rate of 44.4% trails the UK figure by 4.3 percentage points, suggesting routes here may be modestly more demanding than the national norm.

Within the city the spread between the easiest and hardest centre is 22.6 percentage points: Atherton (Manchester) leads at 67% (2024-25), while Atherton (Manchester) sits at 44.4%. That gap matters when you book, the same candidate can have a meaningfully different experience depending on which routes they drive on test day. Most learners pick the centre closest to where they take their lessons, but it's worth a few mock runs at your shortlisted centre's actual routes before the real thing.

Atherton vs the UK average

Atherton
volume-weighted average
44.4%
-4.3 pp vs UK
UK 48.7%
0%25%50%75%100%

Atherton below the UK average pass rate by 4.3 percentage points. Pass rates in Atherton sit close to the UK norm, expect a typical level of difficulty.

Easiest & hardest centres in Atherton

All centres compared

Pass rate by gender across Atherton

Male pass rate
52.9%
weighted city average
Female pass rate
50.1%
weighted city average

Across Atherton's test centres, men pass at 52.9% and women at 50.1% a gender gap of 2.8 percentage points in favour of male candidates. Across the UK, the gap is around 5 percentage points on average.

By test category

Car (1)
68.9K tests on record
Motorcycle Mod 1 (1)
9.5K tests on record
Motorcycle Mod 2 (1)
8.8K tests on record
HGV / LGV (1)
31.9K tests on record

All test centres in Atherton

About these statistics

Pass rates shown above are aggregated across all available years of DVSA quarterly statistical data for each centre. Rates are volume-weighted across the city, larger centres carry proportionally more weight than smaller ones. Centres with fewer than 1,000 tests in the current period are flagged as low-sample to avoid statistically noisy comparisons. The best-performing centre in Atherton is Atherton (Manchester) at 67% (2024-25), and the toughest is Atherton (Manchester) at 44.4% (2024-25). Always factor in your own preparation, instructor recommendations, and route familiarity, pass rates are a useful signal, not a guarantee.

Frequently asked questions

How many driving test centres are in Atherton?
There are 4 DVSA driving test centres in Atherton, England.
What is the average driving test pass rate in Atherton?
Across Atherton's car (category B) test centres, the volume-weighted average pass rate is 44.4%, compared to a UK national average of 48.7%. That puts Atherton below the UK average by 4.3 percentage points.
Which is the easiest driving test centre in Atherton?
Atherton (Manchester) currently has the highest pass rate in Atherton at 67% (2024-25 DVSA data), based on 2.4K tests in the period.
Which is the hardest driving test centre in Atherton?
Atherton (Manchester) has the lowest pass rate in Atherton at 44.4% (2024-25 DVSA data), based on 7.7K tests in the period. Its routes may be more demanding than the city average.
Which Atherton centre has the best first-time pass rate?
Atherton (Manchester) has the highest first-time pass rate in Atherton at 43.9% (2024-25 DVSA data). First-time pass rate measures the percentage of candidates who pass on their first attempt, a useful indicator of difficulty for new candidates.
How do I book a driving test in Atherton?
All UK driving tests are booked via the official DVSA service at gov.uk/book-driving-test. You'll need your provisional licence number, a theory test pass certificate, and a payment method. Choose any of the centres listed above when selecting your location.
What does a UK driving test cost in Atherton?
The standard DVSA car practical driving test fee in Atherton is £62 on weekdays and £75 on weekends and evenings, the same across all UK test centres. There are no additional location-based fees. Always book through gov.uk to avoid third-party markups.
Is the pass rate higher at smaller centres in Atherton?
Not always. Smaller centres in Atherton can show higher percentages but also fluctuate more year to year because of small sample sizes, centres with fewer than 1,000 tests in the current period are flagged as "Low sample" above. Volume-weighted averages give a fairer picture.

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Data: DVSA quarterly statistical release, released under the Open Government License v3.0. 61.2K passes recorded across 4 Atherton centres.