RED Driving School 

Booking classes themselves was quick and efficient, and help was easy to get hold of. My teacher Gopal was exacting but thorough and excellent, and was a great help for myself, being someone who doesn't have a car and hasn't had much chances to get driving experience since passing their test.

I took lessons with Raja Iqbal in Coventry, after having a really bad experience with another instructor (not a RED instructor) whose teaching methods were quite aggressive and knocked my confidence badly. I explained this to Raja from the start, and he immediately made me feel completely at ease.

Raja is incredibly patient and never makes you feel bad for making mistakes. He’s super friendly, makes a real effort to get to know you, and his dad jokes are actually funny and genuinely helped rebuild my confidence back up!

I’ve been learning on and off for a few years, and Raja is by far the best instructor I’ve had. I passed my test in Nuneaton and, most importantly, I now feel genuinely confident driving and stress a lot less if i make a little mistake.

Would highly recommend Raja to anyone looking for a calm, supportive and encouraging instructor.

Niall Davies taught both my kids and they both passed 1st time, the youngest just a couple of weeks ago. Niall is patient and also very thorough. Booking is easy and he always confirms the lessons so you can keep track as the parent. Highly recommend Niall for the Cardiff area.

The website i great but the drivers always cancel or don't turn up. So rude. When i tried to call they were closed but never said what the opening hours were.
I wouldn't recommend them if you have a timescale to meet. The instructors are very good but they screw you over a lot.

A huge thank you to Adiba (Dee) for helping me pass my driving test upon first attempt! I could not have done it without all of her guidance, support and constructive feedback, which all massively helped me prepare for the stress and nerves that I felt and refine my driving technique as much as possible.

I would definitely recommend her as a driving instructor if you want honest, direct and actionable advice that could help you pass first time too, as well as moral support more generally!

Very disappointing experience with instructor Shehzad Khan through RED Driving School. I felt I learned very little, as most lessons were spent driving around small streets without proper teaching. He often praised himself as “the best instructor” while criticising other instructors, and even discussed his political views during a lesson, which was inappropriate and unprofessional.

I raised a complaint with RED and only received a partial refund so far. Based on my experience, I would not recommend lessons with this instructor.

Niall Davies (NJD Red Driving) was my instructor. I honestly can’t put to words how much of a wonderful instructor he was. After about 3 previous instructors, Niall’s sessions were the ones that helped me get the confidence I needed to drive a manual car.
He was patient, calm and also explained things clearly. I’m super glad I learnt and passed in Cardiff with him as my instructor.

Despite having had around 25 hours of lessons before meeting Jason - who we booked in order to have use of the RED car for my son's driving test, and to make use of the 11 hour package which came with this car rental - Jason has managed to destroy my son's confidence in driving, make him think that (because he repeatedly stated) "you're going to fail, you're going to fail, it will be a miracle if you pass". As well as being half an hour late for a 10am lesson Jason also said some very inappropriate things to my son about "jumpers' on trains which made my 17 year old feel incredibly uncomfortable. and vulnerable.

Speaking on the phone with RED yesterday, I was amazed by the extent to which my concerns were not heard vs the RED party line that "we take our teacher's word" if they say a student is not ready to take a test. It feels like we are part of a bullying scam with the intent to eek out more lessons and money at our expense in order for Jason presumably at some point to say that his student is "ready" for the test.

What makes me feel so betrayed and sad is that we are not the first to voice these precise claims against Jason Evans. I do not understand how RED can read and respond to multiple Trust Pilot reviews from genuinely concerned and bullied customers and not think to link up the dots that are all pointing to the same thing: that Jason is not fit to be alone in a car with students and that he unequivocally should not be a driving instructor.

Does RED not worry about their own reputation having people like Jason on your books?

As someone who has massively struggled with driving, suffering from panic attacks, anxiety and had been learning to drive on and off for almost a decade with 9 fails on my test Alaa Kosheta in Bromley was an absolute miracle worker! From the start he was very gentle and reassuring with me and kept me calm enough to work through my panics when it came to driving. He got me through my test first time with him as my instructor and gave me the confidence to belive I could actually do it. He's also very good if like me you have dyspraxia and struggle with co-ordination and spatial awareness in helping to explain what you should be doing in a way that relies less on instinct and more about finding little measurements that can help you read the road. He's an absolute delight as well!

Massive thanks to Red driving school, and particularly their Instructor Stephanie Ritchie.
Our daughter failed her test and was low on confidence and had no interest in driving. She decided to change Instructors and got in touch with Stephanie.
Stephanie made everything really simple and straightforward for Erin to understand. Erin came home after each lesson really enthused and looking forward to her next lesson.
The proof is in the pudding, so when Erin passed her test I was really surprised what a confident driver she was. As a parent, this is so reassuring to see.
Thanks again Red, and we cannot thank you enough Stephanie.

I passed my driving test first time today thanks to Dean Syer! Absolutely brilliant instructor with so much patience and excellent communication throughout every lesson. Dean always made me feel calm, confident, and fully prepared for my test. I couldn’t have asked for a better instructor and would highly recommend him to anyone learning to drive. Thank you again, Dean!

Vicki Tarve has been the best instructor i could have ever had. The joys of getting into the car and learning to drive has been so much fun. The confidence that i’ve gained with her has been invaluable and all the recognition goes to her, she is strict but it is the exactly what a first time driver needs to do well and perform safely. I achieved a first time pass with her after about 6 months. Would recommend her to any and everybody and i’d think all of her students would agree. Thank you Vicki you've been the best :)

DON'T BOOK JASON! I had booked 10 hours of lessons with Jason in order to have a car and some lessons before my exam (I had an instructor with a different company before). He is honestly one of the rudest people I have ever met, incredibly discouraging and stressful to have lessons with. This was bad enough, but at the end of our lessons he refused to let me use the car for my test, forcing me to hire a rental car which is incredibly expensive! He also made some very strange remarks about people jumping on to train tracks. Long story short, even if he had let me use the car I'd still regret booking his lessons due to his aggressiveness. It felt like he had some kind of grudge against me and didn't care whether I passed the test or not - I left each lesson incredibly stressed and mentally exhausted.

Lucian Pop was an amazing instructor! He made me feel very confident and comfortable from the very first lesson i had with him . RED driving school app is very easy to use and i would definitely recommend! I passed first time after 2 months !

I've been driving since the 1980s but I have only driven vehicles with manual transmissions. I was due to travel to the Republic of Georgia. starting off in a rental car from the capital city, Tbilisi and travelling on a notoriously hazardous road into the mountains, above the snowline and on heavily potholed roads with huge volumes of traffic, especially large trucks. The available, suitable rental cars were all AWD automatics so I decided to book a driving lesson in an automatic to familiarise myself with the controls and raise my confidence level. I chose RED as they has a number of instructors/vehicles in my area.

The lesson was not cheap (£90 for two hours) and I felt that I would only need an hour, but as that was the only option, I went with it. I was allocated and instructor and shortly after they contacted me to ask if they could change the date of the lesson (I booked it for a couple of days before we travelled, for obvious reasons). We agreed a slight change and on the morning of the lesson I had all my info ready and was looking forward to it, then I got a message from the instructor to say that they had a family emergency and had to cancel.

As you might imagine, this caused me some concern and I contacted RED who, to their credit, were able to find me another instructor later that same day, albeit at a time that wasn't convenient to me as I'd had other plans.

The lesson went well and two days later I was driving with a heightened level of confidence along the old Soviet Military Highway into the Greater Caucasus mountains.

I explained to RED that I was not happy with the way things went and they contacted me whilst we were in Georgia to confirm that they were looking into it. They've called again today to say that the original instructor had left the UK and might not be returning and have stated that this is not the sort of thing that they would pay any compensation for. It's good to know that they have such comprehensive rules and procedures that cover this eventuality but perhaps worrying to think that it might be something that happens frequently enough for them to have developed these procedures.

To be honest, I would have been happy if they'd offered to refund, say, £20, and if so, I probably wouldn't have written this review. As it is, I will not be recommending RED to anyone considering taking driving lesson and will suggest that they look for independent local instructors instead.

My son had Abdirahman Islow as his driving instructor. He was an excellent instructor getting him through his test and passing. He was always punctual and reliable and had a relaxed and thorough approach. Thank you Abdirahman.

My experience with Angela Brown was disappointing and negatively affected my confidence as a learner. I felt criticised for mistakes but rarely supported or acknowledged for progress. I often left feeling more stressed than when I arrived, and I struggled to build confidence.
There were also occasions where misunderstandings about directions or signage led to me feeling blamed, even when I was trying to clarify things politely.
I was also very uncomfortable with how often and how abruptly she grabbed the steering wheel. While I understand this can be necessary in certain situations, it felt excessive. In my experience with other instructors or passengers, this has never been necessary, and it felt unsafe and unsettling. When I raised this concern, the response was defensive rather than understanding.
Most lessons were spent on roads unrelated to my test route, which felt unproductive. Angela was also reluctant to take me onto certain roads that were part of my test route because she felt I “wasn’t ready,” even though I felt completely comfortable and capable. As a learner, I trusted her judgement at the time, but in hindsight it meant I spent the majority of my lessons practising in areas that had no relevance to my actual test. This significantly limited my preparation and added unnecessary stress.
Some manoeuvres were explained in overly complicated ways, and frustration was directed at me when I struggled to follow them.
On top of this, sensitive political topics were brought up during lessons, which I found inappropriate and unprofessional.
Ultimately, the experience affected my confidence and mental wellbeing. After switching instructors, I immediately felt more supported and capable, and my driving has improved significantly.

Had a wonderful experience and passed first time thanks to Niall Davies. He is kind, supportive and stern when he needs to be to ensure YOU will pass!
He was adaptive to my learning style to help me overcome vast challenges.
I feel I am a safe driver thanks to RED and Niall Davies and I look forward to my future in driving. Thanks!

A huge thanks to James Ursell! I had a great time learning to drive with him and passed first time. He's a genuinely nice guy and a great teacher - patient and supportive when needed. The lessons are well planned and he explained everything thoroughly throughout. Thanks again James!

I had jamil latif for my driving instructor and passed, he’s a great guy on all my lessons it was just a comfortable drive wasn’t on edge had a good laugh and taught me everything I needed to do to pass ,I would highly recommend him and he’s got a nice car very easy to drive