Learning to drive does not stop when you pass your test

Driving gives you a sense of freedom, a means of going wherever and whenever you want. Every day, teenagers turn 17 and are eligible to drive. To speak from own experience, it’s an amazing sensation to be behind the wheel of a car.

If you are worried about learning to drive, you are not alone but have no need to. Sure, the first lesson can be nerve-wracking but once you get a feel for the car and a trust for your instructor, you’re set.

The nervousness of being behind a wheel soon turns into a want – almost an addiction of wanting to drive. At the start you’ll find it confusing. I had no idea how to drive and I wondered how they expected me to make the thing move and to control once it was moving.

But in time you will begin to do everything from indicating to changing gear as if it were second nature. The lessons soon stack up and you’ll have passed your test before you know it.

When you start learning to drive the best thing you can do is not to worry. Unless you have specifically said otherwise, the instructor will not expect you to know a thing.

Learning to drive isn’t all about the practical side though. There’s a lot of theory as well, so that may mean you will have to study driving theory if you want to pass.

As with the practical side, there is nothing to worry about and if you study and try hard, everything should be fine. If not, there is always next time.

Another key thing to remember is that once you have passed, you are still a learner, albeit without the L-plates.

S6 pupils across the county will once again this year be taking part in the Driving Ambitions initiative. Representatives of agencies including the emergency services, garages and people who have been directly affected by road accidents, meet new drivers to talk about the real-life consequences of taking the wrong attitude to driving responsibly, as well as the practicalities of running a car. Wick High School hosts the event on September 19th and it will be at Thurso High School on the 20th.

Matthew Heaton and Gillian Campbell

THE “summer” weather has passed yet again and now we’re back to school. Exam days have passed for this year and for us sixth years it is our last year of high school – but not our final year of education. No, hopefully some of us will be progressing into apprenticeships, some to careers and even further education: college or university. Scary thought.

What may have been an even scarier experience was waiting on our exam results. Pupils received their grades on August 7. We congratulate everyone on achieving great results once again. These will determine things like what class you may be put in for the next year to what universities you can apply for and enter into your future career.

Many young people are applying to college or university through UCAS and the school guidance staff are helping pupils to fill out forms on the UCAS website.

With great results come great prizes. At Wick High School’s prize-giving ceremony on August 30, presentations were made ranging from application in subjects to first in a particular subject to the dux for the student who achieved the best results throughout the year. It is exciting to see all the achievements recognised and we would like to congratulate all the prize-winners.

New prefects have been appointed to take over duties by the sixth years who have now left. The prefects play a central role in the running of the school, which helps them become responsible young adults and helps the school progress.

House captains of each of the houses of ‘Fergus’, ‘Morven’, ‘Noss’, ‘Rumster’ and ‘Scaraben’ and the head boy/girl with their deputes were also appointed. They have been appointed to leadership roles and will help guide the prefects in their daily duties.

On a final note, we would like to thank the school’s staff for helping us achieve good qualifications to bring us closer to becoming mature young adults and giving us the grades we need to get employment.

John Coghill and Cameron Reid

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