If you are learning to drive in the East Midlands, you may have more choice of test centre than you realise. Leicester alone has two, and within a reasonable drive you can also reach Loughborough, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough’s nearest centres, Northampton, Kettering and Wellingborough. Those centres do not offer the same test, and the pass rates prove it: the gap between the strongest and weakest in this pair of counties is close to twenty percentage points.
This 2026 comparison looks at each centre’s pass rate, the roads its routes actually use, and who each one suits. It is written for learners deciding where to book and for those already booked who want to prepare properly.
Pass Rates Across Leicestershire and Northamptonshire
These figures come from recent DVSA test centre data and move each quarter. The national car pass rate has been sitting close to 50 per cent, which gives you a useful benchmark.
| Test centre | Recent pass rate | County | Route character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wellingborough | around 60% | Northamptonshire | Market town, country roads, A509 |
| Northampton (Gladstone Road) | around 52% | Northamptonshire | Urban, ring road, estates |
| Leicester (Wigston) | around 51% | Leicestershire | Suburban, A5199, industrial estate |
| Kettering | around 49% | Northamptonshire | Business park, A14 corridor, town |
| Loughborough | around 42% | Leicestershire | Town centre, university traffic |
| Leicester (Cannock Street) | around 40% | Leicestershire | Dense inner-city, ring road |
The Two Leicester Centres Are Not Interchangeable
This is the single most useful thing a Leicester learner can know. Wigston and Cannock Street sit roughly six miles apart and produce pass rates around eleven points different.
Leicester (Wigston), off Saffron Road in South Wigston, sends you out into suburban Leicestershire: Blaby, Glen Parva, Oadby and the A5199 corridor. There is estate driving, a good share of 30mph and 40mph roads, several roundabouts and some faster stretches, but the traffic density is manageable for most of the route.
Leicester (Cannock Street) in the north-east of the city is a different proposition. Routes work through Rushey Mead, Belgrave and Humberstone, with the inner ring road, bus lanes, box junctions, heavy pedestrian activity and long lines of parked cars on residential streets. There are more decisions per minute here than at almost any other East Midlands centre, and that is precisely why the pass rate is lower.
Neither centre is unfair. But if your lessons have been in the villages south of the city, booking Cannock Street means sitting a test on roads you have barely driven.
Loughborough: The University Effect
Loughborough’s pass rate sits below the national average, and the town’s character explains a lot of it. Routes include the town centre one-way system, the roads around the university campus with very high pedestrian and cyclist volumes, and junctions onto the A6 and A60. Term time changes the difficulty noticeably.
The faults that appear most often are observation at pedestrian crossings, response to cyclists, and hesitation when emerging into steady traffic. If you are booked here, ask your instructor for lesson time near the campus during a weekday afternoon.
Practise Real Test Routes on Your Phone
The Exam Routes App gives you access to real driving test routes with turn-by-turn navigation. Practise at your own pace and build confidence before test day.
Northamptonshire: Wellingborough Leads the Way
Wellingborough posts one of the strongest pass rates in the region. Its routes combine a compact market town with genuinely rural roads out towards Irchester, Wollaston and the A509. There is less multi-lane congestion than in Northampton or Leicester, and fewer moments where the traffic simply refuses to give you a gap.
That said, the rural sections require real skill. National speed limit lanes with blind bends, farm entrances and mud on the road punish poor forward planning, and examiners here expect appropriate progress rather than crawling.
Northampton, based at Gladstone Road, gives a broader urban test: the ring road, Kingsthorpe and Weston Favell estates, dual carriageway sections and a set of large roundabouts where lane discipline is assessed closely. Kettering, off Orion Way on the business park, mixes estate roads with the A14 corridor and town-centre driving, and is the natural choice for learners in the Corby and Market Harborough area.
Which Should You Book?
- Wellingborough if you are comfortable on country roads and want the statistically strongest option in the region.
- Leicester (Wigston) if you live in south Leicester or the surrounding villages — it matches the roads most local learners actually practise on.
- Leicester (Cannock Street) only if you have deliberately practised inner-city driving. It is a good test, but not a forgiving one.
- Kettering or Northampton if your lessons have included dual carriageways and large roundabouts.
- Loughborough if you know the town well — local familiarity counts for a lot on those routes.
Remember that the 2026 DVSA booking rules limit you to two changes per booking and only allow you to move a test to one of your three nearest centres. Choosing well at the start matters more than it did a couple of years ago.
How Exam Routes App Can Help
Knowing that Cannock Street is harder than Wigston is only half the job. The Exam Routes App maps real driving test routes for centres across Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, with turn-by-turn navigation so you and your supervising driver can drive them exactly as they run. Practising the Rushey Mead loops, the Wellingborough country sections or the Kettering A14 junctions until they feel routine is what actually moves your odds.
Common Faults Across Both Counties
Examiners in this region record the same core faults again and again: junction observation, mirror checks before changing direction, road positioning near parked cars, and inappropriate speed for the conditions on rural roads. None of them is centre-specific, and all of them are fixable with targeted practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is easier, Leicester Wigston or Cannock Street?
Wigston has the higher pass rate, at around 51 per cent compared with roughly 40 per cent at Cannock Street. The difference reflects the density of the inner-city routes at Cannock Street rather than any difference in marking.
Is Wellingborough really the best centre in the region?
It has the strongest recent pass rate at around 60 per cent, helped by quieter market-town and rural routes. It is only the best choice for you if you have practised country roads properly.
Where do Market Harborough learners take their test?
There is no test centre in Market Harborough itself. The nearest options are usually Kettering, Northampton, Wellingborough or Leicester (Wigston), depending on where you live.
Does term time affect the Loughborough driving test?
It can. Pedestrian and cyclist volumes around the university rise sharply in term time, which makes observation and anticipation harder on routes that pass the campus.
Can I book any test centre in the East Midlands?
You can book any centre with availability, but under the 2026 rules you may only move an existing booking to one of your three nearest centres, so pick carefully at the outset.
Don’t Leave Your Test to Chance
Drive the real routes used at Wigston, Cannock Street, Loughborough, Northampton, Kettering and Wellingborough — turn-by-turn, before test day.
