The questions people actually ask before their first lesson.

An automatic takes clutch control and gear changes off your list entirely. You still need to learn everything else properly, junctions, hazard awareness, roundabouts, hill starts, but you're learning it without also juggling a clutch pedal on Bath's hills. Most learners who try both find automatic clicks faster.

No. An automatic pass gives you a licence restricted to automatic vehicles. To drive a manual, you'd need to pass a manual test separately, in a manual car, at a later date. For most learners choosing automatic, that's a decision they've already made peace with.

It depends entirely on where you're starting from and how often you can have lessons. Someone starting from nothing and having one lesson a week will need longer than someone switching from manual lessons with a run of hours already banked. Dexter will give you an honest estimate after the first couple of lessons, not before.

Ask when you enquire. Whether an intensive run of lessons makes sense depends on how much driving you've already done and how quickly you pick things up. Tell Dexter your timeline, including any test date you're working towards, and he'll tell you honestly whether it's realistic.

Ask about current lesson lengths and pricing when you enquire. Most learners start with a standard length lesson and adjust from there once Dexter has a feel for how you learn.

Yes. As your test date gets closer, lessons shift towards the roads and junctions you're likely to see on the day, roundabouts near Newbridge, the run through Weston, and the tighter streets closer to the centre. Familiar roads on test day take one variable off your plate.

Your provisional driving licence, both the photocard and the paper counterpart details if you still have them, and glasses or contact lenses if you need them to read a number plate at distance. Everything else, Dexter provides.

An automatic, obviously. Ask for the specific make and model when you enquire, along with anything else you'd like to know before your first lesson.

Dexter's lessons are based around Bath and the surrounding neighbourhoods, including Oldfield Park, Combe Down, Odd Down, Twerton, Larkhall and Weston. If you're just outside that patch, ask, it may still work depending on your postcode.

That's between you and the open road. Some new drivers take a Pass Plus course to build motorway and night-driving confidence early. If that's something you'd want, mention it when you enquire and Dexter can point you in the right direction.