How the Kent HGV price index works
Every price in the index comes from the provider's own website, recorded with the page it came from and the date we checked it.
Who's included
Any provider that advertises HGV driver training to Kent learners: schools with a yard in Kent, schools just outside the county, and national companies and brokers. Kent figures use only providers with a Kent yard; national companies are shown separately. When a provider doesn't publish prices, we list it as "price on request" rather than leave it out.
Where the prices come from
- We take the price shown on the provider's own website, and keep the wording and the page address it came from.
- We record whether the price includes VAT. Where a price is shown without VAT, we add 20% so it can be compared with the others, and say so in the table.
- We don't estimate. If a page doesn't say how many hours a course includes, the index says "not stated".
- Where a provider lists several options for the same course, the table shows them all. "Cheapest advertised" uses each provider's lowest price; middle all-in figures use every option.
- We check every provider again at least every three months, and the date checked appears next to each price.
The courses
| In the index | What it means |
|---|---|
| Class 2 (Cat C) | Rigid lorry over 7.5 tonnes, learning from a car licence |
| Class 1 upgrade (C+E) | Articulated lorry, for people who already hold Cat C |
| Car to Class 1 (C+E) | Straight from a car licence to an articulated lorry licence |
| 7.5 tonne (C1) | Medium lorry up to 7.5 tonnes |
| Periodic CPC | The 35 hours of training working drivers need every five years |
Making prices like for like
Advertised prices include different things. Some cover the medical, theory tests, CPC tests and DVSA test fees; others are training only. So for every course we also work out an all-in price: the advertised price plus anything it leaves out that you'd have to pay to get your licence.
- DVSA fees at their fixed GOV.UK prices: theory tests £37, CPC Module 2 £23, the practical tests (off-road and on-road) £155, CPC Module 4 £55.
- A £58 D4 medical: the middle of the 7 D4 medical prices published by Kent clinics and training providers, which run from £45 to £66. Kent D4 medical prices.
- If a provider doesn't say something is included, we add it.
- Car to Class 1 means going straight from a car licence to C+E, with one set of tests. C1 is often taken for non-professional driving, so its all-in price leaves out Driver CPC.
Cost per cab hour is the all-in price divided by the in-cab training hours the provider states. It's the fairest single number for comparing a short course with a long one.
The value score
Price alone misses what you get. A training-only course leaves you to book and pay for the medical, theory tests and practical tests yourself, and to find your own study materials. A full package does that for you. So every course gets a value score out of 10: half for the training and half for the support.
Training: up to 5 points
| Part | Points | How it's scored |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per cab hour | Up to 3 | All-in cost per cab hour against the Kent middle for the course, in half-point steps: 3 if 10% or more below, 2.5 if 5% or more below, 2 if at or below the middle, 1.5 if up to 7.5% above, 1 if up to 15% above, 0.5 if up to 25% above, and 0 if more. |
| Cab hours | Up to 2 | Cab hours against the Kent typical (median) for the course: 2 for at least 90%, 1.5 for at least 80%, 1 for at least 70%, 0.5 for at least 60%. |
Support: up to 5 points, graded on what you can see before you pay
Saying "we sort everything for you" or "free app included" takes a few seconds. Building a working system takes a lot longer. So support is graded by how much it covers and by what a buyer can check before paying. A claim with nothing to see scores nothing, the same way a course with no stated hours isn't scored.
| Area | Points | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Learning platformup to 2 | 2 | A full platform you can use before paying: theory, hazard perception and CPC Module 2, with mock tests and progress tracking |
| 1 | Something you can try before paying that covers part of it, or a named app you can look up | |
| 0 | Nothing included, or an app or materials claimed but not shown | |
| Admin and paperworkup to 1 | 1 | Medical, theory and tests included and booked, and the provider shows how it runs them: the route, form checks and a named contact |
| 0.5 | Medical, theory and tests specifically listed as included and booked for you | |
| 0 | You arrange them yourself, or only a vague "we sort it all" | |
| Job supportup to 1 | 1 | Live job listings or named employers you can see before paying |
| 0.5 | Specific help described, such as CV and interview help | |
| 0 | Vague "job support", a job "guarantee", or nothing | |
| Retest coverup to 1 | 1 | Retests included in the price, with the terms published |
| 0.5 | A specific retest stated as included, without published terms | |
| 0 | Not included, an optional paid add-on, or a vague "pass protection" |
The learning platform carries 2 points because it's where providers differ most, and it covers three of the five tests: theory, hazard perception and CPC Module 2. A free platform anyone can use counts for every package from that provider. Retest cover only counts when it's in the price; an optional paid add-on scores 0 for the package without it. For the Class 1 upgrade, which needs no medical or theory test, admin is judged on the coordination the provider shows.
We check each provider's own website, open any learning platform or demo it offers, and record the page and what we saw for every grade. Each course's grades and evidence are under "Details" in the price index. A provider can raise its grade by showing more, before people pay.
8 to 10 is excellent value, 6 to 7.5 good, 4 to 5.5 fair, 2 to 3.5 poor, and below 2 very poor. A course with no stated cab hours isn't scored, because its value can't be judged.
The transparency score
Each provider gets one point for each of these eight things it makes clear on its own website, before you pick up the phone.
- A price is published online.
- The number of in-cab hours or training days is stated.
- It says whether DVSA test fees are included or extra.
- A training site address is named.
- It says who delivers the training, including when another school does.
- It offers an assessment or taster drive before you pay in full.
- Cancellation and refund terms are published.
- It makes no "guaranteed pass" or "guaranteed job" claims.
When we can't find the information either way, the check scores no point and is marked "not found", so a provider can earn it by publishing it.
Who delivers the training
- Own trucks and instructors: the provider says it trains you itself.
- Partner schools: the provider says it places you with schools or locations in its network.
- Not stated: we couldn't find either on the provider's website.
Corrections and missing providers
If a price is wrong or out of date, or we've missed a provider, email hello@drivertraininginfo.co.uk with a link to where the price is published. We check every correction against the provider's own website before changing the index.
Providers can't pay to be listed or to change their position.
Using the data
You're welcome to quote the index or reuse the data, including in news articles, as long as you link back to the price index page. The full dataset is available as JSON and CSV.