Located on Wellington Street in Drayton, the school has seen nothing but success since opening its doors. Karen Martin took on her role as the Drayton manager after recognizing a gap in driving school services being offered in the area. Joining her in the Drayton office is lifelong Drayton resident, Marlene Martin, who assists with the day to day administrative duties.
The response from both parents and students has been very positive. When asked about their opinion of the course student feedback expressed that there was a positive energy from the instructor, fun games to play, learning useful information and new techniques, and that the interaction between the students and instructor was great. When asked if they would recommend the course 99% of the students say “yes”, citing the main reasons as that it’s “easier on insurance,” “can get G2 fast,” and “the instructor is awesome, fun and easy to understand.”
Owner/instructor Paul Coombe credits the school’s success to a number of reasons. Namely, the school’s smaller classroom teacher-student ratio and its award-winning instructors: Paul Coombe, Shahnam (Sean) Mirzaie and Shahab Mirzaie.
All three instructors bring a high level of expertise in training and instruction. Coombe has 19 years of experience, and takes pride in the fact that his schools boast an over 95% road-test success rate with its students. All three instructors have earned a reputation as not only well trained and experienced, but also as patient and caring instructors for new drivers. This is exactly the type of approach needed in order for students to gain confidence on the road, and translates into superior results for the school’s students. Sean is the Drayton location’s main instructor and also teaches courses on how to manoeuvre safely through skids and defensive driving techniques through his “Skid School” course. He has also worked for the Ministry of Transportation as a training examiner and currently trains new instructors.
The Drayton Branch of the Fergus Elora Driving School offers courses designed to teach all aspects of safe driving, including defensive driving, freeway and highway driving, night-time driving and collision avoidance techniques. Flexibility has been the key to the school’s success. Students can complete their in-car instruction during a lunch break, spare, or after school, since pick up at Norwell District Secondary School in Palmerston is offered.
Whether it is a weekday, weekend, evening or daytime, the staff strives to work around students’ schedules. As proof of that, a Christmas Break course has been scheduled when Drayton students will have the option of taking courses in Fergus and then completing the in-car portion of the course in either Drayton or Fergus. It’s perfect for Drayton students who are unable to take the four-Saturday course in November and December at the Drayton location. The Fergus dates are Dec. 31, Jan. 1, 2 and 3, 2013 (Tuesday to Friday), however this option is open all year round but most popular are the four-day Christmas break and summer courses.
“It’s a nice feature for those students who are unable to attend the Drayton in-class dates this summer,” says Martin. The school always strives for improvement and makes every effort to adapt their courses to meet the needs of its students. In response to parental requests, the school has added a new deluxe package that offers more in-car time in the city. The package will offer an additional three hours to the regular package, which can be added in at anytime. The regular package includes two trips: once to Kitchener and once to Guelph. While in the city students practice entrances onto the 401 and take a sample road test. The deluxe package offers an extra three hours of driving practice, of which almost two hours will be spent in the city limits focusing on city driving. Call the school for more details.
Because the school is MTO approved, successful graduates are eligible for insurance discounts, which is a great incentive to train with the school.
The school offers a variety of courses, including the beginner’s driving course, refresher courses for the G2 exit test, defensive driving courses, private senior lessons and on-road assessments for those requiring license renewal (due to an accident or age related).
Martin stresses that she would like to see the school expand even further and welcomes input from the community to determine whether there are other courses the school should be offering. She also notes that due to the nature of the courses the existing location sits unoccupied from time to time, but is available to groups or individuals seeking temporary retail space.
The school has been growing steadily, “It is this kind of community support that encourages us,” says Martin. The next beginner course will be offered Nov. 17, 24, Dec. 1 and 8 and consists of 20 hours of classroom training, 10 hours of private in-car and 10 hours of home study. Successful graduates can be licensed in eight months, four months earlier than many other G1 holders.
To book your course or for more information call Karen or Marlene at 519-638-9990 or visit www.ferguseloradrivingschool.com
