STUDENTS moved into top gear when they got behind the wheel for the first time yesterday.

Year ten pupils at St John's RC Comprehensive School, Bishop Auckland, have been given lessons in road conduct and road safety over the past few weeks.

Yesterday they gained practical driving experience with British School of Motoring instructors.

The teenagers had to complete different tasks within the school grounds, including steering while wearing vision-restricting goggles, and judging width and distances by manoeuvring between cones.

A spokeswoman for the school said: "We show them videos about rights and wrongs on the road and road conduct, and even show them footage from police cameras.

"Then BSM bring in a car and pupils have a 20-minute slot to drive the car around the school grounds."