THE first ever national driving qualification launched in Nailsea last year has proved a resounding success.

Nailsea School pupils have been the first to take part in a BTEC in Driving and Driver Education, with 65 out of 66 achieving the qualification.

It was offered to pupils in years 12 and 13 to study for alongside their A-levels and includes 30 hours of in-car training as well as the Driving Standards Agency theory test.

Phil Duncan, assistant head sixth form at Nailsea School said: “We are very proud of the achievements of our students who took this course and the fact Nailsea School have been the pioneer in this important move towards better road safety.

“This has been a hugely popular course with both our students who wish to learn to drive and their parents who want their children to be safe on the roads.”

The course is delivered by Nailsea driving school, Driving Force, which worked with Nailsea School to develop it. It is now hoped the qualification can be rolled out to other schools across the UK over the next year.