A competition by Learner Driver Week, a national campaign held by Marmalade Insurance to champion the UK’s learner drivers, has been won by Amanda Green.
The Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) was nominated by past student Michelle Broadley for going the extra mile. She has been presented with her prize alongside the official certificate and car window sticker carrying the title of Driving Instructor of the Year 2017.
Amanda found her passion for teaching people to drive when practising with her twin daughters alongside their driving lessons. She left her career as a teaching assistant to train as a driving instructor and qualified just a year ago. Already she has made a huge impact on her students.
Michelle, who put Amanda forward for the award, said: “My family was going through an incredibly difficult time with my husband facing a double lung transplant. I had all but given up driving because of a previous instructor making me feel incredibly nervous. That was until my son wrote a note in his communication book about his dad's operation. It simply read ‘What happens if daddy dies – no-one will drive’.
“Of all the worries going through his head, this was something I could ease the burden of. I couldn't have done it without Amanda getting me through it all. Amanda knew the delicate situation, supported me through my lack of confidence and led me to pass first time with no minors! She's even going the extra mile for my family by joining us on a charity fun run for Harefield Hospital.”
Amanda Green, who operates under the LDC franchise as Pass with Amanda, said: “I can’t believe I’ve won! I feel so privileged to have even been nominated, so this is a huge reward for the hard work and hours dedicated to my new career. It was a pleasure to teach Michelle and I can’t thank her enough for her nomination.”
The nationwide Driving Instructor of the Year competition was run as part of Learner Driver Week, a recent campaign driven by Marmalade to champion the UK’s learner drivers and ensure that the process of learning to drive is as comprehensive, accessible and affordable as possible.
Crispin Moger, CEO at Marmalade, said: “Driving instructors are among the UK’s unsung heroes, sitting beside thousands of learner drivers and nurturing them as they navigate the road. They are in a unique position to completely transform a person’s life by giving them confidence, independence, and freedom.
“As we’ve heard from Michelle, a bad experience with an instructor can put learner drivers off for life, so it’s really amazing to see what Amanda has done for the family and how fantastic her driver teaching ability is after such a short time. Congratulations are also due to our runners up, instructors Emily Croll and Stephanie Gill. We were overwhelmed by the number and quality of entries we received and look forward to running the competition alongside Learner Driver Week again next year."
Driven by the support of partners Marmalade Insurance, the Approved Driving Instructor National Joint Council (ADINJC), Marmalade Network, Driving Test Success, iAm RoadSmart and Driving Instructor TV, Learner Driver Week’s mission is to educate, inspire and champion the 7.8 million provisional licence holders in the UK.
