Past Pupil – Alina Prylipko

This week’s past pupil is Alina Prylipko, who is originally from the Ukraine, but now lives in Blackpool. Alina passed her driving test back in July of this year, after completing lessons with Weelz instructor, Kevin Cooper. We caught up with her some 5 months later to see how she found her lessons, and how she’s been doing since she became a full licence holder! Here’s what she had to say:

“I found out about Weelz Driving School from a search in one of the local Facebook groups. This school was recommended the most, and had the highest rankings. As soon as I dropped a message on Facebook, I was assigned an instructor and he called me shortly afterwards to introduce himself and arrange a first session.

I was 31 when I started my driving lessons, and I knew I would struggle, as situational awareness was always my issue. I was not nervous during my first lesson, but, being a foreigner, I was worried about terminology relating to cars and driving. Having shared this worry, my instructor asked me a few questions, and reassured me that I was going to be fine.

Kevin was great: He was not to pushy, gave me plenty of time and approached everything with calmness and experience. He was very reassuring and understanding. He referred to his experience and was always willing to accommodate any of my suggestions. Most importantly, he was also fun to spend a couple of hours with, so, apart from learning to drive, I always felt I had gone with a great company!

I passed my theory first time, as I was recommended a very good application to use by my instructor, and I studied for it a lot. The practical element, I passed on my second attempt, as the first time I got really stressed within the first few minutes. As with any test, the driving test is stressful, but looking back now, I think I had a great time whilst I was learning.

Now, being able to drive gives me lots of flexibility, even though I still wouldn’t say I’m one of those people who loves driving. I will always appreciate the value of the skill, and I would definitely recommend Weelz Driving School to all.”

Alina’s instructor, Kevin Cooper, who is based in Blackpool said:

“When I made the initial call to Alina and found out that English wasn’t her first language, I was a little sceptical at first. I needn’t have worried though, her English is probably better than mine!! She was a pleasure to teach, always enthusiastic, and very keen to learn. She even turned up to lessons with a notepad and pen, and a list of questions she wanted to know, regarding driving, or the theory test. She studied really hard and was determined that she would only sit the test when she felt ready. She did that, and she passed first time, with a very high score.

Alina will be the first to admit that she isn’t the best co-ordinated person in the world, so it was a bit of a struggle in the early stages for her to get the required co-ordination to drive a car. She would often be distracted by things like shop windows too! She told me, right from the start, that it would probably take her a little longer than most to learn, and that she was fine with that. To be fair, it probably did take a little bit longer, but, fair play to her, she persevered and now she has a full driving licence. I know that means a great deal to her, and makes it much easier in terms of getting to work, and getting around with her daughter. We do keep in touch to this day, which is always nice. Well Done Alina!”