Pathfinder Under 17 Driving

Fantastic experience: A fantastic opportunity for my daughter to begin learning to drive. The course was exceptionally well organised and proved to be a thoroughly worthwhile and enjoyable experience.

Fantastic experience: I cannot recommend this course enough to any young person between the ages of 15-17 who wants to learn to drive. The instructors were incredibly knowledgeable and patient, making every session both informative and enjoyable. The course was structured in a way that gradually built confidence and skills, from understanding the basics of vehicle control to navigating complex driving scenarios. By Friday, my son was driving a police car and a Porsche at high speeds, something we weren't expecting after driving around cones on Monday morning at 10 mph! It isn't all about the driving either. With daily briefings everyday we talked about road safety, causes of accidents and the consequences after. Every session was presented perfectly to educate and engage the young drivers. It’s a full-on and tiring week, but it’s a week we will be talking about for a long time and highly recommend to anyone wishing to learn to drive. Thank you to all the instructors at Seighford who gave up their own time to put on this brilliant week and to all the other people who came in too (I won't name them as I don't want to give all the fun away).

Fantastic experience: Brilliant course - really established a strong comprehensive foundation for driving, can not recommend enough.

Fantastic experience: This is the most incredible, engaging and truly amazing gift you can give a young person. LGBT and Neurodivergent friendly, a safe, exciting, expertly guided experience of introducing the skills and abilities one needs to be respectfully in control of a motor vehicle, building on structured skills every day. The highlights are too much to state here, though some were observing and adhering to rules of the road and awareness of other road users, prompting their possible next moves, whilst recognising the control within your own hands from turning the steering wheel correctly on day one, to expertly dealing with collision avoidance at speed and strategically manoeuvring into the tightest parking spaces. The exceptional welcoming manner of ALL staff were outstanding, with continual clear, calm and precise instruction being exemplary. Everyone was totally genuine and expertly knowledgeable and totally invested in your progression throughout, with special gratitude and respect to Tom and to Dave for their calm, courteous good humour and direction, thank you so so much, This is an absolute must for all parents to book for their offspring. Do it now!

Fantastic experience: I attended the Pathfinder course between 28 Oct 2024 to 01 Nov 2024. The short of it: In 5 days, I've gone from not driving and being quite terrified of it to driving and actively enjoying it! The course includes both theory and practice, and I recommend it to anyone looking at the somewhat daunting process of obtaining a full Driving Licence. The definitely-not-short of it: You get: your progress folder for the course, a copy of Highway code, a copy of IAM's "How to be a better driver," and a team of volunteers very invested in your success. Oh, and a pen - which you will need, but not for any tests. I'm not in the typical age group for Pathfinder, but was able to participate due to space available. Any thoughts about feeling self-conscious fled on day 1 - the lovely team of volunteers treated me exactly like other participants, and I felt welcomed and supported throughout. I've gained skills, experience, knowledge: basic mechanical checks of the car, break and avoid maneuver, reverse and parallel parking, reversing, overtaking, forward planning for road hazards, 3 point turn (box) maneuver, emergency stops, situational awareness, a ton of good practices. The course is designed to offer the experience of driving different types of vehicles. Manual? Automatic? Doesn't matter - by the end of the course, you will have driven both. But it's not just the manual vs automatic experience: I've driven several different vehicles, including a van and a police car. And still there is more! A fun mini-course on a mobility scooter has a catch: you do it wearing "drunk goggles" the second time around. Just for a very informative comparison. (Surely the cones moved?!) You climb into a lorry, sit on the driver's seat and verify with your own eyes what they can and can't see. Hint: your instinct to give lorries a wide berth is absolutely correct. You watch several cars perform an emergency stop (braking for dear life) at various speeds, illustrating actual stopping distance for each speed. It's a very good perspective to have, confirmed even by some parents I spoke to at the course. All in all: it's a packed and exhausting week. It's the best thing I've done to overcome my terror of driving. Am likely to volunteer to pay it forward. Hope to see you there!

Fantastic experience: Such a valuable course for new drivers. All the volunteers were very friendly and supportive. The instructors gave fabulous tuition and guidance and as a result, my daughter gained confidence and achieved a high level of skill in just 5 days. She's now more than ready for a few lessons on live roads before going for her test. I'd definitely recommend this course. Thank you everyone involved at Seighford.

Fantastic experience: Truly amazing, taken 2 of my boys for the course teaching them in a safe environment to drive with confidence and safety. Team of volunteers were patient and supportive of both parents and teens. I as an adult and a driver of 30 years learned new things each time. I can't sing their praises enough......so much so that myself, my husband and 1 of my son's now volunteer too. Saves a fortune on beginner lessons, some students pass after 6 to 8 additional lessons. Worth every penny

Fantastic experience: Such an amazing initiative, immaculately delivered with care and passion by the Pathfinder team. This set up my son incredibly well to be a significantly safer driver. After 30 hours of supervised driving, across a number of different vehicles, he was driving really well. It put him in such a great place for passing his test when he turned 17 and since then he has also passed the IAM Roadsmart advanced driving test - and still only 18. Can't recommend this approach enough.

Fantastic experience: Great experience and well worth the money for the whole week

Fantastic experience: This course is by far the best thing any pre test learner could do. The course took my son from a non driver on day one to someone I would have happily given my keys to drive me home on day 5. The set up, instruction and inputs are excellent. Supported by Police, DHL who bought in an articulated lorry for students and parents to better understand the view these vehicles have. Driving simulator from the University College London. The instructors were fantastic, introducing students to principals of advanced driving and techniques that are simply not taught during driving lessons and will undoubtedly keep them safer on the roads. Put simply this is not only fun but the best investment you can make in a young driver, and I’d urge everyone to do it.

Fantastic experience: My 16 year old daughter and i attended the 5 day under 17s driving course this past week and it was absolutely amazing! Lacey was taught everything from theory, car mechanical knowledge, how to manage peer pressure, how to navigate country lane driving, roundabouts, one way systems, how to brake and avoid a collision, how to overtake! She got to drive a variety of vehicles including a long wheel based van and a police car! The knowledge and skills Lacey has gained in 5 days is phenomenal, going from reluctantly attending on day one to getting up excited and keen to 'go driving'!! I can't thank the team of volunteers enough, you all genuinely care about our teens not only learning to drive but staying safe. If you are wondering if you should book yourself and your teen to attend this course, do it, do it now, you won't regret it!

Fantastic experience: I can’t recommend the Pathfinder course enough. My daughter was about to turn 17 and the course happened to fall the week before. Edie had never driven a car before and ended the week having passed all three levels, driven a van, 2 police cars, an Audi S4 and Mercedes (at speed) confidence but above all safety. She can parallel park and three point turn with ease. She’s also got a good mechanical and car safety knowledge as well as theory. Don’t even hesitate to book this, you will learn so much too.

Fantastic experience: My son attended a Pathfinder course last week. It was awesome! The fabulous instructors (shout out to Sarah!), are patient, fun and knowledgeable, resulting in great learning and an enjoyable experience. It would take months and months of lessons to have the opportunity to practice the number of skills the young people get to try out. Plus, they are able to practice safety skills to increase awareness and help them be discerning and sensible drivers. I’m sure if every new driver had the opportunity to do this course, accidents would reduce massively. I can’t recommend it enough, it really is brilliant! Thank you so much to the wonderful volunteers who give their time to make the experience run flawlessly. If I could give 10 stars, I would!

Fantastic experience: Most beneficial course any young driver should attend.. The knowledge and detail given was 100% The driving instructions were clear and easy to follow giving our daughter confidence and good driving skills.. Fantastic team of instructors. Friendly, direct on their information and informative. Would recommend to any parents with children learning to drive. I will be recommending this company to all parents and their children. Thank you

Fantastic experience: Excellent course. Amazing instructors. Very valuable. Definitely recommend.

Fantastic experience: Pathfinder Under 17 Driving Course turned out to be the best experience - what an excellent way to enable teenagers to indulge their passion for driving while acquiring road awareness and driving skills that will set them up for life. An absolute life-saver #SafeAt17

Fantastic experience: My son and I had such an amazing 4 days in Seighford on the Pathfinder course earlier this month. If I’m really honest I thought it was going to be boring but I couldn’t have been more wrong!! The instructors were fabulous and the whole team was super friendly. The course was so well put together - all 4 days were informative, interesting and great fun and not only did my son come away having learned the fundamentals of driving safely but I learnt things too. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Thank you so much to Chris, John, Simon, Tony and the rest of the superb volunteers that make this course possible.

Fantastic experience: An incredible experience, from start to finish. My daughter went from a complete novice to confidently overtaking cars at 40mph, mastering every skill needed for her test. It was intense but never pressurised. The fabulously patient instructors were good natured throughout and there was much laughter. I started the week with trepidation, thinking there would be stress, arguments and tears… all ungrounded fears - we both enjoyed the week immensely and I feel lucky to know with certainty that my daughter will be a safe and confident driver on the roads. I cannot thank the team enough.

Fantastic experience: Started with no driving experience and finished driving around the track, reverse park, turn in the road and parallel park with confidence. The sessions on causes and consequences of accidents were informative and a valuable part of the course, the tuition sessions from the course organisers were great, and even the adults learned something, (ask Chris, he still has his £20!). To have the backing of West Mercia police and 2 of their officers speaking to and instructing the young drivers in safe driving was great. So glad we have participated in the course and would thoroughly recommend it to anyone about to start out on their driving career.

Fantastic experience: My 16 year old son and I spent 4 days at Pathfinder, this was the first time he had driven. The instruction and tutorials give was excellent, the teaching was as near as real life as could be. The staff had made the course realistic and the added benefit of having other cars on the circuit was great, no empty car park simulation but traffic, speed, giving way. This should be supported a lot more by local councils and should not rely on the generosity of the volunteer’s. All in all I would insist anyone who is going to teach their child to drive should do this first, I am a lot more confident that my son will do well once we get on the road in a couple of months.

Fantastic experience: Loved completing this course. I learnt loads about the ins and outs of driving and the best part for me was driving the F-Type ;). Thank you Chris and the Team

Fantastic experience: My daughter and husband had the best time on this course. They both enjoyed it over the 4 days. everyday there was something different to focus on and my daughter defiantly learnt how to drive over the 4 days. There was also some good safety training included in this course. My daughter is 17 in June so this will be a great spring board when she starts driving on real roads. I would recommend this course, excellent value for money.

Fantastic experience: This was a really good investment of our time - our daughter gained core skills in both the mechanics of driving and situational awareness, and we learned how to better support her in the next steps towards safe independent driving. All the people providing instruction and guidance were amazingly informative, encouraging and generous with their time - I can't thank them enough.

Fantastic experience: 4 complete days of instruction, fun and learning, leaving with lifetime knowledge and experience in the form of a complete driving experience. It ended with a drive in an F type Jaguar, the lessons learnt will serve both my son and myself well into the future. One to one instruction, sponsored by the police and supported by the Institute of Advance Motoring.

Fantastic experience: I heard about this course because my sister did it and she said what a great week it was. It was such a good week and so many opportunities available, for example being able to drive various different cars and learning a lot about driving. The instructors were always friendly and happy to answer questions on anything. I believe that everyone who is wanting to learn to drive should take this course, it will make them a safer driver. It was such a great week and I will definitely recommend this course to everyone I meet. Many Thanks to the whole team for a superb week, Zach English

Fantastic experience: We attended the October half term Seighford event with a little bit of apprehension due to the rotten weather as we drove up the M6 the night before. But the Monday morning started with a break in the clouds and a hearty welcome at the airfield from Chris, John, Simon and the whole team. The positivity from everyone was infectious and these guys obviously knew what they were doing. The safety briefings were clear, the course layout was comprehensive and any first day nerves soon disappeared. We were driving my 2litre, manual Qashqai that my son had never started before. Within the first hour, he had progressed with clutch control, push pull steering, msm, car awareness and his confidence was beginning to climb. Into the passenger seat jumped Neil to give him excellent instruction as we made our way round the course. The layout is a combination of straights, roundabouts, junctions, tight twisty lanes, 3 point turns, reverse parking, parallel parking, country road sections and a handling course….a full mixture of challenges. The day flew by and with lunchtime briefings and discussions on safety, car handling, road awareness etc…..it gives your child a wake up call in the responsibility of being a car driver. Day 2 pushed the boy further with excellent tuition sessions from Neil and Tom and a test of close control skills (slalom, parallel park etc). We also watched an eye- opening demonstration of braking at various speeds and vehicles. I think all the students were engrossed in watching cars, vans etc performing emergency stops. We ended day 2 working towards the 3 levels of competence. The parent’s own driving and tuition improves once you’ve sat in the back listening to experienced instructors (many with police and military backgrounds) explain patiently to your kid how to assess road situations and grasp the skill of car control. Day 3 and 4 pushed even further with assessed skills tests ( reverse slaloms!), braking hard and avoid objects at speed ( where could you practice that on a normal suburban driving lesson?), techniques to assert yourself in a car full of teenagers etc. Every session and briefing was invaluable in teaching the kids how to be a safe competent road user. By the end of day 4, my son had completed Level 1 (highest grade) and was driving smoothly, confidently and competently around the whole course whilst narrating out loud the potential hazards and options that were coming towards him. I was so impressed. Don’t get me wrong, there were periods of doubt and stress for the boy. It’s not easy, it’s challenging, it pushes them and you. But it builds resolve and respect. He finished the week by driving a Transit van and a Jaguar F-Type whilst I stood on the sidelines quite amazed in what we’d achieved in 4 days. We drove back to London that evening and I could see him eyeing up my competency on the M1. He starts his driving lessons this week. I can’t think of a better way of making my son safe as he begins a lifetime on the roads than ensuring he completed the Pathfinder course. Chris’s team were , without exception, superb. I would tell any parent to sign up their child to the course before they begin their own journey. My son came home a driver, I came home a proud parent …..and a better driver myself. Well done Pathfinder. Gregg P

Fantastic experience: Chris,John,Simon and all of the team made Liam and myself feel very welcome. Liam having cerebral palsy and autism was very nervous and did not know what to expect but all of the instructors were patient and understanding and explained everything they expected and Liam went through the week really enjoying the whole experience and came away with level 3 and 2 and also learnt how to be a careful and considerate driver who is looking forward to getting his provisional licence next year. I also learnt things I had forgotten after driving for over 50 years and I came away from the course a better and more conscious driver. Thanks again to all the team David and Liam Mosedale

Fantastic experience: This was a fabulous course, son and I had a great time and learned a lot. Great combination of fun a learning. Everybody should do it before they start learning to drive on the Public roads. Thank you everyone involved

Fantastic experience: Attended the Seighford event in October 22 with my younger son (16). In 4 days he went from not being able to drive to reversing around a cone slalom and parallel parking. A brilliant opportunity for 15-17 year olds to get driving instruction in a safe environment. Also educational with the chance to sit in the cab of a HGV and see what they as drivers can and more importantly , can’t see. Along with other safety inputs. Thank you to all of those that make the course happen and to the instructors.

Fantastic experience: I am so glad that we found out about Pathfinder and now both our teenage sons have learned so much during the driving course from incredibly committed volunteer instructors. I can't recommend this course highly enough. Real driving, real learning before they start on the roads. Made me as a parent more confident as a driver too.

Fantastic experience: Amazing experience best thing I ever did and didn't need any professional lesson to even pass the basics. Course instructors and marshalls were really helpful and encouraging you can grantee that I'll be recommending it to Friends and family.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic 4 days with a 15-year old who has really enjoyed it and learnt some great car handling. Every single person running the course was super-helpful and kind. Can't recommend it enough!!!

Fantastic experience: Fab course, everyone should do this prior to learning to drive on public roads. Course instructors and marshalls were really helpful and encouraging, I'll certainly be recommending to my friends

Fantastic experience: Great experience, Declan passed his test after only two on road lessons, the under 17 pathfinder course helped greatly in understanding the risks on the road, thank you all

Fantastic experience: Best thing I ever did I didn't need any professional lesson I passed my test with this course and my moms tuition