Well it took me four attempts to pass, having spent probably two thousand pounds by that point.

I was trained by a great instructor, who also flew planes (though I was worried when he started mentioning flaps, but that's another issue), so I was confident in my ability even during the first test.

My bad luck was in getting the head instructor for my first three attempts. Who you get, from a pool of five or so, is entirely random but I was unfortunate enough to get the most inscrutable old duffer you can imagine. Dark glasses, a monotone voice and a thick mangy beard which hid any facial expression and in which I'm sure I detected movement. Just the kind of thing to put you at ease.

The third time he failed me was just before the additional theory test came in, so you can imagine how angry I was. He’d just cost me even more money and hassle, and I was marked down for some vague indiscretion like driving too far from the pavement or something stupid.

Anyway – a month or so later, the fourth time I got someone different who was a real human being and he actually spoke to me during the test, so I passed no problem.

So, sometimes it's just your luck or lack of that'll be the main determiner of success. The state of some of the drivers out there (who probably passed first time after five lessons!) makes me sick. But all water under the bridge – I've been driving for ages now, I'm not bitter (much…)!

I said it before, but some of those guys just fail every young person. It happened to friends of mine when we were young. There was this one guy who failed a bunch of them. I made a mistake on my test, but I passed because my guy was not a complete bitter prick!

You need to find a new place to take the test!
[Edited 2/20/08 10:28am]