Instructors

Jason Pope 07721 474 913

"I've been a driving instructor for 15 years, having previously trained and worked with a national driving school (BSM) where I came third in the 'Instructor of the Year' competition in 2001. I started working with Michelle in 2002 and joined miniscuLe in 2006 which has been a great experience.

I have a methodical teaching approach and limitless patience, even at the hairiest of moments. I know my subject and should be able to answer almost any question about driving.

I love my job. Tailoring lessons to each individual pupil, seeing how a nervous first-timer becomes a confident and assured driver, seeing the look on people's faces when they realise they are driving for the first time - it gives me great job satisfaction. It's also great to see former pupils out on the roads cruising around in their own cars after they've passed the test with flying colours. Driving as well as they've been taught, of course!

You could call me a driving geek as I love anything to do with vehicles. This extends to my hobbies which include mountain biking, motorbikes, trucks, cars and motorsport. In fact, I once entered a national racing competition to win a season’s entry to a motorsport team and got through to the quarter finals. Unfortunately I was scuppered by the rain! When not driving, I also enjoy snowboarding, scuba-diving and juggling."

Michelle Surridge 07984 409 515

"I qualified as a driving instructor with BSM in December 2002. I worked with them for two years after completing my training and left to set up miniscuLe in January 2004.

I am married with two grown up children and have a keen interest in horses, skiing and ice-skating. Many of the techniques and methods used in learning to ride a horse, I've been able to apply to help learners to drive a car.

There are many aspects of the job that I enjoy. Firstly, I get to meet a wide variety of people and teach them a subject that I really enjoy. Teaching pre-test learners is great because I get to see learners' confidence increase as their driving skills improve. Providing post-test new drivers with 'Pass-Plus' and motorway tuition lessons is also very rewarding. Lastly, driving instructing is fun - it can be scary but mainly it's fun!

If I could give a message to the more experienced drivers out there, it would be to remember not to be discourteous or impatient to learner drivers - they shouldn't forget that they were learners once!!"