Tina Rickman - Approved Driving Instructor

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🎉 Hugest congrats to Amy on passing her test yesterday at Redhill with just the one teeny tiny fault. Such an amazing ac...
10/06/2026

🎉 Hugest congrats to Amy on passing her test yesterday at Redhill with just the one teeny tiny fault. Such an amazing achievement and lovely words of praise from the examiner!! 😇

🚙 Amy hasn’t been taught test routes nor how to just pass her test - she has gained a vast amount of experience in our lessons, learning how to safely negotiate lots of different junction types, on various road layouts, in a variety of rural and town areas, including Sevenoaks, Redhill and (the much-dreaded) Crawley. This, in turn, will give her confidence and knowledge to then safely drive to new and unfamiliar places in future months and years to come, whenever she so desires or needs to 🚗

💪 Amy has worked incredibly hard every single lesson, listening and thinking and assessing and improving. She’s also been out practising with mum and dad, as and when she’s needed a lift to places, taking the opportunity to get better and better.
She has literally been ready and safe enough to drive independently for a while, but we’d not had any luck bringing her test forward.

🚙 Eventually, yesterday arrived and Amy was able to prove her high standard of knowledge and ability to the examiner who gladly handed over the all-important pass certificate whilst telling her again how brilliantly she drove 👩‍🎓🚗

👏Congratulations again, Amy - you were a little superstar to teach and now I feel extremely proud to let you venture off all on your own 🥰

🎉 Huge confetti-bomb congratulations to Freya on her first-attempt pass at Crawley on Tuesday!! What a superstar!! 👏🚙 Fr...
08/14/2026

🎉 Huge confetti-bomb congratulations to Freya on her first-attempt pass at Crawley on Tuesday!! What a superstar!! 👏

🚙 Freya has always had quite a casual, natural steering style, as if she’s been on the road for years….but it took a little while for her to suss out and remember the old clutch situation. So, oftentimes, we could be driving around the trickiest of areas, stop-start, giving way here, negotiating a couple of cyclists there, overtaking at 70mph without batting an eyelid, not a worry in the world, and then randomly, Freya’s cheeky little nemesis would appear from nowhere and blank out her memory of what she had to do with her clutch, in the middle of doing it 😬

😎 However, each time, we just tried to stay calm and talked through gentle reminders about what had happened and how we needed to reset the feet for the situation. But because the steering and road sense were years ahead of her actual experience, the feet kept catching us off-guard!! Yikes! 😂

🚗 Needless to say, Freya has worked tirelessly in her lessons, and then also when out with mum - which was pretty much non-stop once they both felt confident enough to firstly drive up and down their road and then round the industrial estate, before venturing onto the local main roads and eventually all around Crawley!!!! 💪

🐝 And it seems as if Freya never rests: when she wasn’t practising her driving, she’d be doing college work, or in the gym, or working at one of her MANY jobs, or cleaning her car, or loving her social life no matter how far she had to travel to get there - Brighton for lunch?? Yes please!!….. She just loooooves being busy!!! 🏃🏽‍♀️🏋️‍♀️

🚙 So now after sheer determination and heaps of practise, Freya is an all-round fabulous driver and can drive herself (and the family) anywhere they fancy, but being able to drive to college, rather than catching the train, will be a bonus!! 😊

🙌 Congratulations again, Freya, and thank you so much for the gifts and beautiful words in my card, Nicole and Lee xx

🚗 Looking forward to starting all over again with Hayden next year 😊 (I can only imagine the size of the confetti bomb celebrations when Freya will be the one on the firing end )🎉🎉🎉

👏 Congratulations to a VERY nervous (and VERY nervously-chatty) Ruby on her fabulous pass at Crawley yesterday with just...
08/04/2026

👏 Congratulations to a VERY nervous (and VERY nervously-chatty) Ruby on her fabulous pass at Crawley yesterday with just a few driver faults 💪

🚗 Ruby has worked extremely hard since day one - not just to learn the huge amount of various driving skills, but also to work through her extreme nerves whilst being scared of just about everything 😬

😂 I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard, “Teeeenaaarrrr!!!! I’m scared!!!”
And that was before turning on the engine every lesson….
Eventually it turned to, “Teeeenaaarr, I’m not scared……but I’m REALLY nervous”…. and then,
“I’m scared and nervous but I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine”…..and luckily on test day,
“Teeenaaaarrr I’m really nervous…..but I’m going to pass!!”
And she did, after months of encouraging Ruby to breathe slower and to not get hung up on mistakes……followed by a huge squeal of excitement and a lot of banter with the examiner!! 😂

🫤 For such a huge worrier, you’d be surprised that she even attempted her practical driving test in Crawley with its below average pass rate and many complex roundabouts that experienced drivers frequently mess up - let alone its multi-lane roads and 70mph dual carriageways - so I have huge respect for any pupil that is willing to have some lessons, and maybe even their test, in the area. Go, Ruby!! 💪👏

🚙 Thanks also to Phil, Genna and Drew for helping Ruby with some private practise too, in her very own little car that she bought with her hard-earned money from working two jobs!!! That girl is a grafter and really deserved her pass yesterday 🚗

We’re all super proud of Ruby and her amazing achievement - she’s already fiercely independent in her daily life, and now she can also drive herself wherever and whenever she wants, independently too 🚗🚙

👏 Congratulations to Gabi on her tremendous first time pass at Sevenoaks, bright and early yesterday morning with just a...
07/25/2026

👏 Congratulations to Gabi on her tremendous first time pass at Sevenoaks, bright and early yesterday morning with just a few driver faults.

🚙 Despite ‘hating’ everything on the first few lessons - people, cars, cyclists, driving, and probably me😂…..she began to enjoy the endorphins that ‘driving’ was starting to offer her and fell in love with it, desperately looking forward to passing her test and being able to drive anywhere…and so she didn’t stop trying to master each skill as she went.

🚗 Many new learners are nervous about going into 3rd gear in those early days, but it became her new fave thing… as well as hill starts, parallel parking and any other skill that learners have heard horror stories about.
Gabi also enjoyed driving on the motorway, until one day another driver almost wiped us out when he cut across into our busy lane without checking or indicating, and with just inches to spare…. That kind of put her off for a teeny tiny bit 😱

🎤🎵 Every single lesson, Gabi has brought the entertainment - from karaoke, to impersonations, to random monologues, and commentary driving in an Aussie accent…..and beyond. We were both convinced that she was going to run some entertaining commentary during her test, but it ended up being the quietest I’d ever heard her…that’s not to say she was silent - Gabi still managed to get the most untalkative examiner to open up and talk about his imminent holiday, amongst other things. I had to try very hard not to giggle from the backseat 🤭🤣

That girl does have a knack for adding life and energy into every situation 🎉🤪. So now APPARENTLY I’m going to struggle in lessons, as APPARENTLY she was my favourite pupil. (BTW I’m very lucky to have lots of ‘favourite’ pupils 🤫 😊)

Now that Gabi is an awesome driver as well as an energetic personality, she will literally go far 🚗🚙

Congrats, to the Gabster. Keep having fun and being you 💪😎

👏 Huge, but chilled and laid back, congratulations to Elias on passing his test at Crawley yesterday morning on his very...
06/14/2026

👏 Huge, but chilled and laid back, congratulations to Elias on passing his test at Crawley yesterday morning on his very first attempt and with just the one little fault. He also received some great feedback from the examiner that he was very impressed; it was a very good drive and he was pleasantly surprised that it was his first attempt!! 🚙

🚗 Elias has had a super quick ‘journey’ with me, starting his very first lesson just in March this year. Even on day one, it was obvious that Elias would not take long to get to a very safe standard of driving. He is lucky, in that he can process information and instructions easily and whilst also undertaking several skills at once. Not only can he do that, but he also remains relaxed yet focussed the whole time 😎

Not everything was perfect first time, though, - he still needed to improve and practise several skills, but he always put the effort in straight away to correct anything he could, as soon as we flagged up an issue 💪

When I asked Elias how he was feeling about taking his imminent test, he said words along the lines that he was fine and he’d just take it as it came. He went on to add that there was no point in getting nervous or worried about it, that just makes things harder. If only we could all be that levelheaded in test conditions!😎

Congratulations again, Elias, you thoroughly lovely chap - and thank you to mum and dad for all your time helping Elias practise in between lessons 🚗🚙

🎉 Congratulations to Izi on her fabulous pass at Sevenoaks this afternoon, with just 3 driver faults 👏🥊 Izi has worked s...
06/11/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Izi on her fabulous pass at Sevenoaks this afternoon, with just 3 driver faults 👏

🥊 Izi has worked super hard from day one. She doesn’t let her dyslexia hold her back, even when it can make brand new skills a little harder to process and coordinate. Once she understood the concepts and reasons, with practise and repetition Izi gradually mastered each one. 💪

🚙 When she first got her car, it was quite different to the drive of mine. She lost a little confidence which meant she then became reluctant to practise in hers. All it took, was for us to have one of our lessons in her gorgeous little Polo, and she was off back to practising with her parents, whenever possible 🚗

🥰 I’ve always loved Izi’s attitude to completing her goal of becoming a safe enough driver that she could pass her test. She didn’t try to rush the process or cut corners - she took it all in her stride and knew it would all come together with patience and practise 😎

Izi can now fully relax - knowing that this important achievement has been accomplished and with her exams behind her, a lovely long holiday in front of her and a brand new start with uni in a few months, she’s going to have the best summer ever!! 🍹🍸👙☀️🚗

👏 Woohoo and congratulations to Ed on his super pass at Redhill this morning, with just the one teeny tiny fault and a m...
06/05/2026

👏 Woohoo and congratulations to Ed on his super pass at Redhill this morning, with just the one teeny tiny fault and a massive smiley grin on his face. 😀

🙏Thank you to mum for doing the honours in taking Ed as I was already booked elsewhere. But also thank you to both parents for helping him put in the driving hours in between lessons - it really does help whenever it’s possible. 🚙

We’ve only had a very short time together from Ed’s birthday lesson in February - he has worked so tremendously hard from day one, really trying his best to listen and process and practise as hard as he could, even when things could be a little frustrating to master. 💪

🚲🚂This will now make such a big difference to Ed as they live in a rural location and he was having to cycle to and from the station to catch a train to college and back every day no matter what the weather. He also worked hard on his days off from college, earning money to help pay for the majority of his lessons. Ed didn’t waste a penny of his hard-earned cash - he put in top effort every single time to help him reach his ultimate goal quicker. 🚗

Congratulations again, Ed. I’m so happy for you and no doubt will bump into you in the college carpark, now that I seem to spend so much time there lately, dropping off and collecting others 😊🚙🚗

👏 Big celebrations for our camera-hating Syd who passed her test on Tuesday at Redhill, and on her very first attempt!!R...
05/21/2026

👏 Big celebrations for our camera-hating Syd who passed her test on Tuesday at Redhill, and on her very first attempt!!
Rightly so, Syd was exceptionally proud of herself 🥰

📚✏️ Having found school life really hard and education particularly tricky to access at her school, Syd really did not enjoy her time trying to learn in that environment. So, despite being really excited when she found out about her surprise lesson on the same morning as her 17th birthday, the idea of driving lessons and ‘learning’ with a relative stranger, was still quite a daunting prospect.

Luckily, we hit it off straight away and it didn’t take long at all for Syd to feel comfortable with me teaching her and us both putting the world to rights.

Getting to the safe standard of driving that is required for ‘beyond test day’, has taken a little while to come around (and that is absolutely fine). We’ve had to really focus on ‘focussing’ and not allowing distractions to get in the way of progressing her driving skills.

Syd couldn’t help it.

Her lapses in concentration just mean she has to work EVEN harder than those who can more easily focus, and that can be mega tiring.
Syd has a very, very busy brain - there really is just so much happening up there, that often she just needs to let it out and talk about it.
Sometimes we had to make a conscious effort to let some of it escape before even turning on the engine.
Again, that is fine.
And we became mindful together, that as soon as the next ‘thought’ started to find its way to the surface, the driving discipline was going to slip - that usually meant unnecessarily slowing or speeding up, but could also mean a delay in anticipating a potential hazard. A quick reminder from me and an outward breath from Syd, could usually nip it in the bud until a more appropriate time.

With huge amounts of effort, practise and patience, these phases of good driving-focus, became longer and longer, with less distractions in-between. Syd is now a super driver through her own sheer determination to FINALLY get that licence and be able to get herself wherever she wants or needs, whenever she wants or needs. 💪

🚗 🎶 So, not only are we all super proud of Syd for her fantastic driving test pass this week, but also for being accepted at uni despite not completing school.
Her self-taught talent for music playing, music writing and music production is that exceptional, that she can now progress her love of the art with an official qualification at uni AND also get herself there and back in her little car once she finds the one that’ll do the job well.

🚙 Meanwhile, I’m hoping the car search is going well - and the desire for a motorbike might have dwindled a tad (or more) 😬.

Congratulations again and I so can’t wait for all the updates.

👏👏 Huge congratulations to Maisy for passing her driving test Tuesday, in Sevenoaks, on her very first attempt and with ...
05/14/2026

👏👏 Huge congratulations to Maisy for passing her driving test Tuesday, in Sevenoaks, on her very first attempt and with just a few random faults.

💪 Maisy has worked hard since day one - some things came relatively easy for her to master, whilst some other areas needed various strategies and repetition to help Maisy truly understand the concepts, and then conquer the skill. But not once did Maisy complain or get frustrated - she practised and practised her little socks off, both in our lessons and also in her own car (when it wasn’t being poorly in the garage).

And now that Maisy has achieved this fantastic goal of hers, she is able to drive herself to and from school (and work) every day, not to mention the many lifts she can also give to her brother from now on 😬 😊.

🎉 Congratulations again, Maisy.
You so deserved your fabulous result this week. And mum and dad can finally have a rest from all that practise 🚗🚙👏.

As of today, only learner drivers can book their own tests, and then swap their test with another learner driver if nece...
05/12/2026

As of today, only learner drivers can book their own tests, and then swap their test with another learner driver if necessary.

Please be aware of the strict guidance below, and make sure your instructor is available for your test date once you are test ready.

Address

Lingfield
Surrey

Telephone

07870682439

Website

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