Bristol driving test centre
DVSA name: Bristol (Kingswood) · The Siston Centre, Station Road, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 4GQ
Drive the 5 routes around Bristol before test day →
Key facts
- Bristol's pass rate was 51.9% in 2025/26 from 14,863 tests, 1.9 points above the national average of 50.0%.
- That puts it 10 of 21 centres in South West (South West average 51.7%), a mid-table pass rates in the region.
- Since 2021/22 the pass rate has fallen by 2.3 points, from 54.2% to 51.9%.
- On waiting times, learners who took a test in August 2026 had waited a median of 5.3 weeks since booking (shorter than the national median of 11.9 weeks); the first week with 10% or more of slots still free was 18 weeks ahead.
- A year earlier (August 2025) the median wait was 11.7 weeks, so waits have shortened by about 6.4 weeks.
- 20.5% of the standard slots in the booking window were still unbooked in August 2026, which usually means a cancellation or new date is realistic here.
Twenty-six mini-roundabouts sit within two and a half kilometres of the Siston Centre. That single number explains most of what a Kingswood test feels like. They come singly, in pairs and occasionally in threes, on roads narrow enough that two cars arriving together have to sort out priority by eye. Add the hills, because Kingswood, Soundwell and Staple Hill are built on them, and you have a test that rewards clutch control and early observation more than confidence at speed. It is also one of the friendlier centres on the numbers. The pass rate runs a little above the national figure and the wait is among the shortest in the South West, which is why learners travel across Bristol to book here.
Drive the Bristol test routes before test day
5 loops from the centre, 57 km in all, with 28 roundabouts and 115 marked turns. Generated from the road network within 2.5 km of Bristol; not DVSA’s own routes, but the same roads.
Drive it before test day
Drive all 5 loops around Bristol from your phone before you ever sit in the car: every roundabout, every junction, in the order you will meet them.
- 5 routes · 57 km · 115 marked turns
- Examiner-style marking on signalling and observation
- Street View tour of each route
- Every roundabout and junction, in the order you'll meet them
- The four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios, included
One payment, no renewal. Or £9.99 a month with a 3-day free trial. Cancel any time.
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- Route 1 · via Soundwell Road11.4 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 9 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Mangotsfield Road.11.4 km · 23 turns · 5 roundabouts
- Route 2 · via Tower Road North10.5 km loop with 6 roundabouts, 11 right turns, 9 left turns and a stretch of Gladstone Street.10.5 km · 26 turns · 6 roundabouts
- Route 3 · via Station Road11.2 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 5 right turns, 4 left turns and a stretch of Webbs Heath.11.2 km · 14 turns · 5 roundabouts
- Route 4 · via Station Road12.3 km loop with 7 roundabouts, 7 right turns, 7 left turns and a stretch of Tenniscourt Road.12.3 km · 21 turns · 7 roundabouts
- Route 5 · via Station Road11.2 km loop with 5 roundabouts, 12 right turns, 14 left turns and a stretch of Goose Green.11.2 km · 31 turns · 5 roundabouts
The same access also opens the four test manoeuvres and eight roundabout scenarios: the two things a route drive cannot teach you.
Almost half the tagged roads around the centre are 20 mph and almost all the rest are 30. There is very little fast driving here. What there is instead is a constant stream of decisions, and seventy-one sets of traffic signals within the same radius to punctuate them. Speed limit signs are the classic Kingswood fault: the limit changes more often than candidates expect, and missing a change is marked whether or not you were actually going too quickly.
The junctions worth knowing before you drive here are these:
- Siston Hill, a large signal-controlled roundabout on the A4174 ring road, where the lanes spiral and the light sequences have to be read early.
- The double mini-roundabout at Bridgeyate, where London Road, Bath Road and Webbs Heath meet, one of two double minis on the usual ground.
- The Downend double mini at Westerleigh Road, which asks you to treat two islands as two separate roundabouts rather than one wide junction.
- Soundwell Road and Mangotsfield Road, not junctions but corridors, with pedestrian crossings, side turnings and parked cars in close succession.
The practice loops on this page run ten to twelve kilometres and each takes in five to seven roundabouts. They also cover Teewell Hill, Goose Green, Church Road and the streets around Cossham Hospital, where gradients and parked cars combine. A hill start on a narrow road with a car coming down towards you is a Kingswood speciality. So is the judgement call on a line of parked cars: room to go, or hold back and wait. Forty-one schools sit inside the area, which shapes the traffic at each end of the day.
Pass rate at Bristol, 2008/09 to 2025/26
Share of car tests passed each April-to-March year. Dashed line: Great Britain average for 2025/26.
Month by month, 2025/26
By year and gender
| Year | Tests | Pass rate | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 | 14,863 | 51.9% | 51.8% | 52.1% |
| 2024/25 | 11,483 | 52.0% | 51.3% | 52.9% |
| 2023/24 | 12,259 | 52.8% | 52.7% | 52.9% |
| 2022/23 | 9,844 | 53.9% | 54.3% | 53.4% |
| 2021/22 | 10,683 | 54.2% | 55.7% | 52.5% |
| 2020/21 | 2,065 | 61.4% | 65.3% | 57.5% |
| 2019/20 | 6,662 | 54.3% | 58.3% | 50.5% |
| 2018/19 | 5,504 | 49.8% | 52.9% | 46.7% |
South West average 51.7% · GB 50%
Waiting time for a test at Bristol
Median weeks between booking and taking the test, for tests taken each month. Dashed line: GB median for August 2026.
| Month | Median wait | Weeks to free slots | Slots offered | Still free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2026 | 5.3 | 18 | 59 | 20.5% |
| Jul 2026 | 5.3 | 18.3 | 55 | 24.1% |
| Jun 2026 | 7.6 | 20.8 | 49 | 25.1% |
| May 2026 | 8.6 | 23.8 | 46 | 27.3% |
| Apr 2026 | 7 | 24 | 50 | 23.7% |
| Mar 2026 | 8 | 24 | 47 | 26.6% |
Tell me when the wait at Bristol drops
One email when DVSA’s monthly figure falls, or goes under the number of weeks you choose. No newsletter.
Test day at Bristol
The Siston Centre sits on Station Road in Kingswood, a short walk from the shops on the High Street. It is a shared building rather than a dedicated test centre, so check which door you need before the day.
There is a car park with marked bays for candidates, and toilets and step-free access inside. Every local source agrees the parking is limited, which is typical of a centre with this much going on: as well as car tests it is reported to run motorcycle module 1 and module 2, lorry and bus tests, and ADI parts 2 and 3. Examiners' vehicles take up a good share of the space. Arrive with time in hand, and expect to be asked to wait in the car until your name is called rather than sitting inside.
Station Road is a 20 mph zone, so the test starts slowly, and the first thing you do is move off from a kerb on a road that carries plenty of passing traffic. The centre is well served by buses along the High Street. There is no station in Kingswood despite the road name, and the nearest rail options are some distance out, so most candidates arrive by car. Booking and cancellation are handled only on GOV.UK.
What DVSA publishes about Bristol
Taken from the GOV.UK test centre finder, checked 3 September 2026. Where DVSA says nothing, this site says nothing.
- Tests conducted here
- carmotorcycle module 1 (off-road)motorcycle module 2 (on-road)lorry and busADI part 2ADI part 3
- Wheelchair access
- Not published. Ring DVSA before the day rather than assuming.
Other tests at Bristol
This centre is not car only. DVSA publishes results for these categories separately, and they are taken by different candidates on different vehicles, so the rates are not comparable with the car figure above.
Learner reports from Bristol
1 learner report: 1 passed, 0 failed
- Test reportPassed
I failed 3 times after that i passed
agit · · 1 point · 0 replies
What examiners mark most often
DVSA does not publish faults by centre, but it does publish them nationally. These collected the most marks across every car test in Great Britain in 2025/26, and they are the same ones you will be marked on at Bristol.
- 1Junctions - observation
- 2Mirrors - change direction
- 3Junctions - turning right
- 4Response to signs - traffic lights
- 5Control - steering
- 6Move off - safely
Getting there
The Siston Centre, Station Road, KingswoodBristol BS15 4GQ
Directions in Google Maps · Check centre notes on GOV.UK
Nearby centres
- Bristol (Avonmouth)Avonmouth, · BS11 8AQ · 14 km55.5%+5.5 vs GB8 wkswait
- ChippenhamSN14 6LH · 24 km56.4%+6.4 vs GB7.7 wkswait
- TrowbridgeBA14 7DZ · 27 km55.2%+5.2 vs GB8.9 wkswait
- Newport (Gwent)Newport · NP19 4XH · 35 km48.9%-1.1 vs GB6.2 wkswait
- Weston-super-MareWeston Super Mare · BS23 3PZ · 37 km61.0%+11.0 vs GB5 wkswait
Questions learners ask about Bristol
- Is Bristol an easy test centre?
- By the numbers, yes: 51.9% of car tests were passed there in 2025/26, against 50.0% nationally. Pass rates reflect the local roads and who takes tests there as much as the examiners, so treat it as a guide, not a guarantee.
- How long is the wait for a driving test at Bristol?
- In August 2026 the median gap between booking and sitting a test at Bristol was 5.3 weeks, and you had to look about 18 weeks ahead to find a week with at least 10% of slots free. DVSA publishes this monthly; the figure above updates when they do.
- Where is Bristol driving test centre?
- Bristol test centre is at The Siston Centre, Station Road, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 4GQ. Arrive at least 10 minutes early with your provisional licence; parking rules vary by centre, so check the learner reports below.
- How many driving tests does Bristol do a year?
- 14,863 car tests were conducted at Bristol in 2025/26, of which 7,719 were passed.
Source: DVSA tables DRT122A (pass rates by centre and month) and DRT122F (waiting times and availability), Open Government Licence v3.0. PassRank adds the comparisons and rankings.
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