The Welsh town with the highest driving test pass rate in the UK

There is a location in Wales where the driving test pass rate is the highest in the UK.

It seems the learner drivers of Llandrindod Wells are in a gear above everyone else – given the town in Powys has the nation’s highest driving test pass rate in 2025.

The research, conducted by accident compensation experts claims.co.uk, examined GOV.UK data on driving test pass rates across 233 UK cities and towns. The locations with the highest total pass rates for men and women between 2019 and 2024 have been named the best places to learn in 2025.

Llandrindod Wells takes the crown. The location has a total pass rate of 69.70%, which is 30.5% above the national average of 53.4%. With 74.09% of men passing their tests compared to 66.01% of women, Llandrindod Wells has the biggest gender split in the nation at 8.08%.

Arbroath, a fishing town on Scotland’s east coast, ranks second. With a total pass rate of 68.61%, the town’s learner drivers are 28.4% more likely to pass their test when compared to the national average.

In third place is the Lake District town of Kendal. According to the data, 65.28% of the town’s learner drivers passed their test from 2019 to 2024, which is 22.2% above the national average. Kendal stands out from the crowd with almost identical success rates between men and women, with a 65.32% pass rate for men versus 65.44% for women.

Another Welsh location, Newtown, ranks fourth. The location has a total pass rate of 64.55%, which is 20.8% above the national average. Women lead the way with a 64.91% pass rate in the Welsh town, compared to 64.22% for men.

In fifth place is Dorchester, with a total pass rate of 63.6% between 2019 and 2024, which is 19.1% above the national average. During this time, men had a success rate of 65.66% compared to 61.65% of women.

Northumberland’s historic town, Alnwick, follows in sixth. With a total pass rate of 62.63%, the location’s residents are 17.2% more likely to pass their test when compared to the average learner driver across the UK.

Chichester ranks seventh, with a total pass rate of 62.21%. Barrow-in-Furness and another Welsh town, Pwllheli, follow in joint eighth, with 62.18% and 62.18% pass rates. Yeovil is the ninth best location to pass a driving test in 2025, with a total pass rate of 62.14% between 2019 and 2024. Peterhead rounds out the top ten, with a total pass rate of 62.04%.

On the other hand, Wolverhampton has the lowest total pass rate out of all UK towns and cities, at 35.17%. As such, learner drivers in the West Midland city are 34.1% less likely to pass their test in 2025. With 38.61% of men passing their tests compared to 31.65% of women, Wolverhampton has a gender gap of 6.96%.

In second place, with a total pass rate of 36.65%, is Plymouth. As such, the city’s learner drivers are 45.7% less likely to get their licence in 2025. From 2019 to 2024, women had a pass rate of 37.94% compared to 38.64% for men.

Wednesbury and Featherstone rank third and fourth, with a pass rate of 37.24% and 37.40% respectively. Crawley has the fifth lowest driving test pass rate amongst all UK towns and cities, according to the study, at 38.7%.

A spokesperson at claims.co.uk said: “These findings provide valuable insights for learner drivers considering where to take their test this summer. With the significant regional variations in pass rates between rural and city areas, this data suggests that test location can play an important role in a candidate’s success.

“Smaller, rural towns appear most often in the top rankings, including Wales’ Llandrindod Wells and Scotland’s Arbroath. In comparison, cities Wolverhampton and Plymouth rank as the two worst locations to learn to drive. These findings suggest lighter traffic and simpler road layouts may significantly boost candidates’ chances of passing their driving test.”

Sources
GOV.UK

Methodology
The campaign examined GOV.UK data on the number of driving test passes at test centres across the UK. The towns and cities with the highest total pass rates as a percentage of all tests from the financial years of 2019 to 2024 have been named in the top 10. The tests were all segregated by gender. Locations with less than 50 average total tests taken were excluded from the rankings.