Kamiel Mallens · 5 May 2026 · 2 min read
There is a group of learners who drive perfectly well in lessons and freeze in the exam. That is not a lack of skill. Under pressure your field of view narrows and you start thinking about things that normally happen automatically — and it is that thinking which makes the driving wooden.
What helps during lessons
Automation. As long as an action still needs thought, it costs the head space you need in the exam for the traffic. So we drive every task not until it works, but until you no longer think about it; that build-up is at driving with structure.
And: removing the unknown. If you already know the kinds of roads around Breda, you have less to process in the exam. And if you have been through the hour once, its shape startles you less. The interim test is useful for that: the same route, the same duration, without a result.
Say so beforehand
Just mention it at your trial lesson. Then we adjust pace and explanation, and discuss what helps you: short instructions, more repetition, or saying nothing for a while. Kamiel has a background as a sports coach and youth worker and experience with exam anxiety, ADHD and autism.
The exam-anxiety test
There is a separate exam format for exam anxiety. You get more time and the examiner calmly explains beforehand what will happen and what he expects of you. With us an exam-anxiety practical test costs € 350; there is also a BNOR exam-anxiety test for € 345. The rates are at prices and packages, and how an exam goes is at the practical exam in Breda.
What often helps most is the thought that one exam says nothing about you. Failing is annoying and costs money, but it is not a verdict: we look at what went wrong, practise it specifically and book a new exam. See also the experiences of other learners.
