Smart Drive UK (Bournemouth) Driving School

Fantastic experience: I was recommended Pascale by a close friend and that was the best decision taken. I had a great experience learning to drive with her. She was super patient with me. I never felt rushed or judged. What I really appreciated was how calm she stayed, no matter the situation. Even when I got nervous or messed up, she stayed cool and talked me through it. That really boosted my confidence. She explains things in a way that was easy to understand and always answered my questions. Most importantly, she was very safety-conscious. I always felt safe in the car and knew she was paying close attention to everything going on around us. She is also really encouraging and supportive, always pointing out what I did well and helping me improve without making me feel bad. That made a big difference for me and all of her efforts made me pass my driving test the first attempt! I would definitely recommend Pascale to anyone learning to drive!

Fantastic experience: Highly recommend Pascale to everyone . She is a very calm and friendly instructor. She taught me how to be a great driver and I passed with 3 minors.

Fantastic experience: Really recommend Pascale, she was lovely and patient when teaching me to drive. I passed first time with two minors! Very happy

Fantastic experience: I changed 4 instructors until I found Pascale from the beginning Pascale made me feel so comfortable and to believe on my self , I would highly recommend Pascale !!!! She is just an amazing teacher!!! Pascale is so calm and patient , Honestly you are amazing Pascale thank you so much for everything ❤️

Fantastic experience: Pascale is an incredible driving instructor. She is very calm and patient and taught me everything I needed to know to pass my test first time. I would highly recommended her to anyone.

Fantastic experience: Big thank you to Pascale for believing in me when I didn’t, for being more patient than my dad and teaching me everything I need to know, I passed my test first time.

Fantastic experience: Pascale was an amazing instructor that is extremely friendly. She helped me pass my driving test first time

Fantastic experience: Passed my test first time, thanks to everything Pascale taught me during our lessons. She is a wonderful teacher with a lot of knowledge and great sense of humour. She was flexible and understanding, which really helped. Would recommend!! Thanks Pascale!

Fantastic experience: It has been amazing for me to learn with Smart Drive. The techniques to smart drive and flexibility to drive at convenient time slots, I would say stand out among things that reflect my learning journey.

Fantastic experience: Pascale thank you for teaching me how to drive "PROPERLY". Honestly you were more than i could ask for. Yes. .She's a little impatient, used to scold me when making a mistake but with the flow of time i got to understand'that was for my own well-being.Thank you Pascale for being patient after my dad jokes. Thank you smart driving bournemouth for providing me the best mentor. Thank you Pascale. Little late then never. ❤️

Fantastic experience: Amazing!! Pascale is so patient, I passed first time with her after having a bad experience with another instructor, she amazing!

Negative experience: AVOID SMART DRIVE AT ALL COSTS - ESPECIALLY MARK, absolutely nasty and a conman driving instructor. Waste of time and money. PLEASE READ: How silly am I, to have bought 2 sets of 10 lessons upfront with Mark, whereby I only had 19 lessons over a period of 38 weeks. How are you suppose to progress as a student? This was because he always cancelled lessons (e.g. daughter sick, no childcare). On 1 occasion he cancelled a lesson at 5PM because he had a test with another student in the morning, so his excuse was to 'prepare his car'. There were numerous gaps in between, e.g. 5 weeks and 3 weeks. Mark was constantly prioritising 'better students'. There were many occasions where he ignored my messages and he would reply days later, and I even had to call Smart Drive (the office) for him to reply to my texts to schedule the lessons. During some driving lessons, he came across very angry and impatient with me. His texts were completely unprofessional. When I text him for my money back for the outstanding lessons, he refused to give it back to me - whereby he even admitted I didn't use the 10 lessons purchased upfront (see evidence of texts below). Back in December last year, I had to do an intensive week 20 hour course because I wasn’t doing any progress with Mark and guess what? I learnt so much in the intensive course in 1 week than I ever did with him... You would think that I should have complained sooner but would I have got my money back (hundreds of pounds) with this conman of a driving instructor? Weeks later, when I tried to bring this case forward to management, I feel like I was not taken seriously. Overall this has been a shocking and appalling experience and I would never recommend this driving company with anyone.

Fantastic experience: My driving instructor helped me build my confidence back up, was very good and calm, Guillaume was great and I passed!

Positive experience: My instructor was great, up until I never heard from him again when I was almost ready to take my practical test. Took me so long to find another instructor elsewhere due to the pandemic backlog, but hugely set back and knocked my confidence a lot as result.

Fantastic experience: Mark was brilliant managed to squeeze me in so I didnt have to cancel my test as my previous instructor had to cancel for health reasons marks easy to get along with calm flexible and professional good positive attitude very highly recommend

Fantastic experience: Mark helped me pass my test the third time around (the first 2 times were with another instructor) and he helped me to feel more comfortable on the roads

Fantastic experience: My driving teacher Adam was really good. I really enjoyed the lessons, he gave useful feedback making sure i was driving at a high standard! Highly recomend.

Fantastic experience: Smart Drive UK are an excellent driving school, from the first enquiry they were quick to find an instructor that covered my area and met my criteria. They are also very reasonably priced, especially if you book 10hour blocks. My instructor was Adam, he is brilliant. Very patient, flexible and puts you at ease. Additionally, Adam is very supportive and gives lots of encouragement and reassurance. He pushes to challenge you when you’re ready but everything is at your pace. I’m very thankful to Adam, he got me passed in under 3 months, and it would have been sooner had there not been delays due to COVID. All in all, an excellent experience using Smart Drive UK, and special thank you to Adam for being a superb instructor.

Fantastic experience: My instructor was Mark very flexible reliable instructor very calm always finds a easy way to explain things so you can understand and adapt to it, he managed to teach me to pass it in the first attempt would definetly recommend him.

Fantastic experience: Mark was the best instructor I've had! Having never driven before and having no one in my family who drives meant I needed a lot of practice and patience and thats exactly what I got at a good price! I was relatively new to the area I was practicing in (just moved down) and learning the terrain and different types of roads in time for the test was great with Mark. Would highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: 5/5! Mark was the best instructor I could've had. He is extremely professional, calm, flexible, and a great teacher. He made me feel confident on the road and taught me so much. It was always fun driving with him and I passed on the first try.

Fantastic experience: I will recommend Smart Drive to anyone that hope to pass the first time, just like I did... cause they're excellent at it. Affordable, reliable, flexible, punctual, value for money, enjoyable and professional all thanks to Mark, his a legend

Fantastic experience: Excellent driving instructor - Mark was professional, patient and flexible which made for a very enjoyable experience. High standard of teaching was great value for money and enabled me to pass first time!!

Fantastic experience: Fantastic driving instructor who was very patient and gave good feedback - thank you Mark!

Fantastic experience: Brilliant service. very patient instructer and professional at the same time. I am now fully licensed and driving confidently thanks to a great instructor. Cheers Mark your a legend!

Fantastic experience: Passed in my first test. Mark was flexible with my schedule, Would recommend.

Fantastic experience: Passed at first time. Driving instructor Mark was very professional and very patient and calming. A massive thank you to him.

Fantastic experience: Very reliable and flexible around my schedule which made my life so easy as I have a hectic working program. Great value for money and the standards of teaching on point. Quick pass/ very satisfied overall.

Negative experience: I would not recommend going with this company. If you can afford to, definitively go elsewhere. The instructor I got was quite unprofessional, making me lose confidence and feel very uncomfortable. He had raised his voice at me multiple times and spoke in a condescending way. Also spoke about other students in a derogatory manor. And when I tried to bring this forward to the management, I feel like I was dismissed and not taken seriously. Over all just a negative experience.