UK Transport Awards 2026/ 14 National Driving School of the Year 2026 There is a reason celebrities including Stephen Graham, Tom Grenan, Deli Alli, and even F1 driver Alexander Albion all chose to learn to drive with the national driving school driveJohnson’s. They wanted the best. Having embodied excellence ever since it was established in 2005 by Anthony Johnson, the company has grown from just one man and his car to more than 850 driving instructors across the UK. On the back of the company’s recognition in this programme, we caught up with Anthony for more. When Anthony Johnson delivered the first driving lesson under the driveJohnson’s banner 21 years ago, he had no idea his one-man driving school would grow to encompass close to 900 instructors nationwide over the next two decades. Its growth is a testament to the power of treating people how they want to be treated, with this winning formula being applied to the three main client groups driveJohnson’s serves: franchised driving instructors, prospective instructors doing their instructor training, and, of course, learner drivers. Although it is based in Milton Keynes, driveJohnson’s today serves more than 1,000 locations across the UK, offering driving lessons everywhere from London to Birmingham. The guiding ethos of serving people well carries over to every instructor in every location, and this is reflected in the tremendous accomplishment that this is the only national driving school to boast a five-star rating on Trustpilot, with this coming from more than 6,000 reviews left by happy service users. Despite the remarkable growth his driving school franchise has been on over the last 20 years, Anthony remains as involved as ever, and can be found in the office on most days. When he is not in the office, Anthony is out on the road, training driving instructors to improve their standards and deliver a continuously excellent service. Anthony’s handson approach is not the only differentiator for his instructors, who also benefit from not being tied into the long contracts standard across many other driving school franchises. All of these small things add up to make driveJohnson’s a textbook driving school, a feat that is becoming harder to achieve as a result of the state of this space following the COVID-19 lockdowns. Anybody who has either been learning to drive themselves or knows somebody who has will be aware of the difficulties inherent in driving tests today, with a black market for them having arisen and some third parties charging learners more than £250 per test by abusing the DVSA’s booking system. Whilst driveJohnson’s is unwilling to exploit this system itself for shortterm financial gain, or advocate others doing so, it is aware that some pupils may still acquire tests in this fashion. So, to ensure their shortterm needs are supported, it has invested heavily in educating and supporting its instructors in this challenging environment. In the longer term, Anthony is hoping that the DVSA will go ahead with its plan to introduce software that means pupils must book their own tests, which will help put an end to this unfair practice. Exploring this further, Anthony told us: “If this is implemented in Spring 2026, driveJohnson’s will be in a much stronger position to support all learners – not just those with urgent requirements. If the DVSA does not follow through, this challenge will unfortunately continue to affect all driving schools and instructors who refuse to engage in black-market test purchasing at extortionate rates.” To end this once and for all, the DVSA will have to train more examiners to get on top of the test backlog dating back to the lockdowns. Whilst many of these wider issues are out of driveJohnson’s control, one thing it can control is its internal culture, which revolves around the simple equation that happy instructors equal happy pupils. By prioritising the wellbeing of its instructors, the driving school franchise starts a chain reaction that reaches every pupil it takes on. A great example of this is the fact that every instructor is truly part of driveJohnson’s family, and not subcontracted like they are at many driving schools. This reinforces unity and consistency across the board. Finally, with 2025 having been a major year for driveJohnson’s, which launched new apps for both learners and instructors and rebuilt its booking system to integrate seamlessly with these, Anthony told us 2026 is set to be equally exciting, as his team are currently finalising another app, this one to be used by driving instructors during lessons. A brandnew website is also set to follow in autumn, alongside the extensive training planned for both its driving instructors and the office team, all to elevate it service standards even further. Named the National Driving School of the Year 2026 for its commitment to making learning to drive personal and for genuinely caring about its instructors and pupils, we are delighted to feature driveJohnson’s in this programme. Contact: Anthony Johnson Company: driveJohnson’s Web Address:
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