A summer holiday and a test in two weeks
A student home from university wants to pass before going back in September. She has had a few lessons before, has passed her theory, and wants an intensive course. The office needs an instructor with long daily blocks free for a fortnight in her area, a practical test date near the end of those two weeks, and some idea whether she is anywhere near ready.
The office rings three instructors. One can do mornings in the first week and afternoons in the second. Another can do the whole fortnight but is in the wrong area. Meanwhile the student has booked a test herself at a centre across the county, for a date that is before the course ends.
Why intensives are fragile
An intensive course is not just many lessons. It is a plan that only works if several things fit together.
- The number of hours needed depends on the pupil's starting point, which is often unknown.
- The instructor needs long, consecutive blocks free, which a normal diary rarely has.
- A test date has to fall at the end of the course, and test dates are scarce.
- The theory test must be passed before a practical test can be booked.
- The pupil's own plans, such as a job start or a return to university, set a hard deadline.
- Payment is larger and usually taken up front, with your terms for changes.
When intensives go wrong
A pupil who arrives far less experienced than they said needs more hours than booked, and the test at the end is either failed or cancelled. An instructor who has blocked two weeks for an intensive loses income if it falls through. A test date that does not match the course wastes both. Intensive pupils are often on a deadline, so a poorly planned course can end in a complaint and a refund request at the same time.
The intensive course planning we build
- Enquiries for intensives go through a short questionnaire on experience, theory status and deadline, followed by an assessment lesson, so the hours proposed are based on how the pupil actually drives.
- The instructor recommends a number of hours after the assessment, recorded against the pupil.
- The planner searches instructors' diaries for blocks of consecutive days that fit the hours, in the pupil's area, and shows options.
- Chosen blocks are held in the diary as a course, so they cannot be broken up by single lessons booked by accident.
- The course is linked to a test date. Whether the school or the pupil books the test is set by your process, and the planner checks the test falls after enough hours have been taught.
- Payment is taken through a payment link, with your terms for changes and cancellations shown before the pupil pays.
- During the course, the instructor records progress each day, and if the pupil is not on track, the office sees it early and can discuss extra hours or moving the test.
| Piece of the plan | Checked against |
|---|---|
| Hours needed | Assessment lesson, not the pupil's guess |
| Instructor blocks | Diary, area and gearbox |
| Test date | Falls after the planned hours |
| Theory pass | Pupil record |
| Progress during the course | Daily progress entries |
Whether a pupil is ready for a test on a given date is the instructor's judgement. The planner makes sure the plan gives them a fair chance to get there.
Intensives that fit together
The student gets an assessment lesson on Monday. Her instructor recommends a number of hours, the planner finds a fortnight with long morning blocks in her area, and the course is held in the diary. Her test date sits at the end, not in the middle. On day four, her progress is behind, the office sees it, and there is time to talk about options before the test.
Instructors are more willing to take intensives when the blocks are protected and the pupil has been assessed properly, because the risk of a wasted fortnight is lower.
Do intensives cause headaches for you?
- Intensive course hours are based on the pupil's own estimate.
- Finding long diary blocks means ringing round instructors.
- Test dates do not line up with the end of the course.
- Pupils book their own tests without telling you.
- Intensive courses fall through after instructors have blocked the time.