Driving Lessons in Putney: Morden Test Centre, Putney Bridge and Local Tips

Putney driving is riverside driving with a hill attached. The district sits in a bend of the Thames: Putney High Street funnels everything towards Putney Bridge, the Upper Richmond Road — the A205 South Circular — cuts east–west across the middle, and behind it the ground climbs to Putney Heath and Roehampton, where the roads widen, the trees thicken and the driving changes character completely within half a mile. If you are looking for driving lessons in Putney, that three-part pattern — bridge queue, South Circular corridor, heath and estate roads — is what you need to master, and your test centre is none of them: it is Morden, south through Wandsworth and Colliers Wood.

Learn and Drive covers Putney: our instructors offer door-to-door pickup, so your lesson starts at your home, work or college — no travelling to a meeting point. Exact pickup for your postcode is confirmed when you book, whether you are in Putney Town, East Putney, West Putney, Putney Heath, Roehampton or towards Putney Vale and the Barnes borders. We offer manual and automatic lessons, female instructors are available, and intensive courses are available for learners working to a deadline.

The test centre Putney learners use: Morden

There is no practical driving test centre in Putney, and none anywhere in the borough of Wandsworth — Putney appears on no current GOV.UK-derived London centre list we checked for this guide. Guidance for Wandsworth borough learners is consistent that the closest centre is Morden, and for Putney that holds: Morden is the centre this guide is built around.

Morden (London) driving test centre is at 10 Tudor Drive, Morden, SM4 4PE. That address is consistent across the main centre directories and DVSA-derived listings we checked. It is a small centre in a residential street south-east of Morden town centre, next to Morden Park; directories list car and ADI part 3 tests there, with no parking at the centre — you park legally on Tudor Drive itself — and male and female toilets available. The run from Putney goes south via Wandsworth and Tooting or via the A3 and Colliers Wood, and it is a journey to rehearse, not to improvise on test morning.

The pass rate at Morden is 50.96% (passdrivingtest.co.uk, from DVSA data). That is around the national average and a fair figure for London. Morden's routes mix roundabout chains, the A24 corridor and residential streets around Tudor Drive, Grand Drive and Martin Way — suburban in a way Putney's bridge-and-corridor driving is not, which is why your later lessons belong down there as well as at home.

Two alternatives deserve an honest mention. Mitcham (London), at Redhouse Road, Mitcham, CR0 3AQ — an address consistent across centre directories — is the other south-side option some Putney learners consider; we do not quote a single Mitcham pass rate in this guide, because the figures published by third-party directories conflict too widely to present one number as fact, and we did not find a Mitcham figure on passdrivingtest.co.uk in our checks. Isleworth (Fleming Way), west across Richmond Park-side roads, is the third option, and the natural one only if your instructor genuinely works from there. Whichever centre you book, your booking confirmation is the final word on address.

You must have passed your theory test before booking a practical. Nationally the theory test costs £23 and the practical costs £62 on a weekday or £75 for evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Waits are still long nationally — the National Audit Office reported an average wait of around 22 weeks in September 2025 — so talk to your instructor about booking early.

The local driving that matters in Putney

Putney Bridge and the High Street come first. The bridge is the start of the Boat Race and the district's pinch point: the High Street carries the queue south from it through the town centre — buses, the station side, shoppers crossing between lights, delivery vehicles — while Putney Bridge Road runs west from the bridge foot towards Wandsworth. Lane choice for the bridge, for the High Street or for turning away towards Fulham on the far side has to be settled early, and our Fulham guide covers the same bridge from the north bank — Putney learners meet it from the opposite direction, with the queue forming on their own streets. Since Hammersmith Bridge closed to motor traffic, Putney Bridge also carries traffic that once crossed further west, and it shows in both peaks.

The Upper Richmond Road (A205) is the second system. Running east through East Putney towards Wandsworth and west towards Roehampton and the A3, it is a wide, busy arterial with bus lanes in places, side roads joining at awkward angles and queues that form and clear unpredictably. Tibbet's Corner, where the South Circular meets the A3 at the edge of Putney Heath, is the district's biggest junction: a large roundabout interchange where lane choice for the A3, for Roehampton or back into Putney has to be read from the markings in moving traffic. It rewards exactly the early planning examiners mark, and it is worth dedicated practice from every entry.

Then the hill. Putney Heath, Roehampton Lane (the A306) and the streets of Roehampton and Putney Vale are wider, greener and faster-feeling than the town below — with gradients for real hill starts, the university and hospital traffic around Roehampton, and residential estates off Roehampton Lane and around Dover House Road and Keswick Avenue where manoeuvres happen between parked cars. West Putney's streets down towards Barnes Common add the quieter grid: 20mph, parked on both sides, meeting traffic throughout. Putney adjoins Wandsworth to the east — our Wandsworth guide covers the gyratory and Garratt Lane — but Putney's own bridge, corridor and heath are a distinct driving pattern, and this guide keeps to them.

Timing matters. The bridge and High Street are slow in both peaks, the South Circular fills from mid-afternoon, and Boat Race day and Fulham and Craven Cottage fixtures change the riverside completely. Practise in those conditions before test day.

Practising around Putney between lessons

Private practice with a legally qualified supervising driver, in a car insured for you and displaying L plates, works best in Putney in two halves: Putney itself for judgement, and Morden for test preparation.

At home, work the pattern deliberately: the High Street and Putney Bridge in both directions, the Upper Richmond Road end to end with proper bus lane reading, Tibbet's Corner from every entry, and the Roehampton, Putney Heath and West Putney streets for gradients, meeting traffic and manoeuvres. Cross the river into Fulham and back so the bridge in both directions feels normal rather than an event.

Then make the southern run a project: Putney to Tudor Drive in Morden, and proper time on the Morden roads — Grand Drive, Martin Way, the A24 corridor and the roundabout chains its routes use — until the test area is as familiar as your own road. If you have booked Mitcham instead, make the equivalent run to Redhouse Road and the A236. Between drives, use our free theory practice — 6,500+ questions, DVSA-format mock tests, 3D hazard perception practice and 178 road signs. The DVSA no longer publishes official test routes, so treat any route list as a guide to road types, not a promise.

Choosing an instructor in Putney

When you compare driving instructors in Putney, check the badge in the windscreen. A green badge means a fully qualified Approved Driving Instructor (ADI). A pink badge means a trainee Potential Driving Instructor (PDI), teaching legally while still qualifying under supervision. Knowing which you have booked helps you judge experience fairly.

Ask about Morden specifically. Does the instructor work regularly from the Tudor Drive centre? Will lessons cover Putney Bridge and the High Street, the Upper Richmond Road and Tibbet's Corner, and also the Morden test area, as a planned programme, rather than endless laps of SW15? Ask about manual and automatic, female instructors if you would prefer one, and pickup from your exact address. Our guide to driving schools near me explains the rest of the checklist — lesson structure, progress tracking, mock tests and cancellation terms.

A proper mock matters for Putney learners because the test happens in unfamiliar, quieter territory to the south. Sit it at Morden, under test conditions, marked strictly. Ignore any guaranteed-pass promise.

Lessons in Putney with Learn and Drive

Learn and Drive is based in Manchester and covers Putney as part of our UK-wide coverage — we do not claim a local Putney office or branch. We offer door-to-door pickup from home, work or college, manual and automatic lessons, female instructors available, and intensive courses.

We do not publish a specific Putney per-hour price in this guide, because the total depends on the package you choose. As company context only, our Manchester lessons start from £35 per hour. For current pricing, see our prices page and confirm for your postcode when you book.

You also get our free theory practice — 6,500+ questions, DVSA-format mocks, 3D hazard perception and 178 road signs — from the start of your lessons.

To book or ask a question, call 07966 587877 or book online at https://learnanddrive.uk/book-now/. Tell us your pickup area, manual or automatic, and target timeline, and we will confirm availability for your exact postcode.

Driving lessons in other cities

Read our guides to driving lessons in Hammersmith, driving lessons in Staines and driving lessons in Eltham. You can also browse all areas on our areas we cover page.

Frequently asked questions

Where do Putney learners take their driving test?

Most use Morden (London) driving test centre at 10 Tudor Drive, Morden, SM4 4PE, south through Wandsworth and Colliers Wood — the closest centre to Putney. There is no practical test centre in Putney or anywhere in Wandsworth borough. Mitcham (Redhouse Road, CR0 3AQ) is the main alternative.

What is the pass rate at Morden?

The pass rate is 50.96% (passdrivingtest.co.uk, from DVSA data), around the national average. Preparation on Morden's actual roads — its roundabout chains, the A24 and the Tudor Drive residential streets — matters more than the headline figure.

Why is there no Mitcham pass rate in this guide?

Because the Mitcham figures published by third-party directories conflict too widely to present one number as fact, and we did not find a Mitcham figure on passdrivingtest.co.uk. Rather than quote an unreliable percentage, we say so honestly — the position this programme has taken since its Mitcham and Wandsworth guides.

Is Putney Bridge on the test?

No — your test starts at Morden (or Mitcham), so the bridge is home driving, not test driving. It still matters: the lane discipline and queue management it teaches transfer directly, and it is the crossing you will use most after you pass.

Can I learn in an automatic in Putney?

Yes. We offer manual and automatic lessons in Putney. An automatic pass gives you an automatic-only licence, while a manual pass covers both. The High Street and bridge queues make an automatic a popular choice locally.

How much do driving lessons in Putney cost?

See our prices page for current packages and confirm for your postcode when you book. We do not publish a fixed Putney per-hour price here; as context, our Manchester lessons start from £35 per hour. The theory test is £23 and the practical is £62 on a weekday or £75 at evenings, weekends and bank holidays.