Assessments & Medicals discussion

[FGW_DID]

No, a pass at National Standard is a pass. From what you have said, you have passed everything to the National Standard, just not to the level that the specific TOC required. You still have your lives intact.

 

[Vision_117]

Well that relieves a significant amount of disappointment then thank you!

 

[Speedbird100]

Hi All. Quick question - if you pass the SJE online, do you have to do it at the OPC for stage 2? This is for different TOC’s. Many thanks

 

[Spincity]

Well that relieves a significant amount of disappointment then thank you!

Just to clarify, you’ve failed TPE, you’ve lost both lives for them. You won’t be able to apply for TPE again.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Dec 2025 ==

Hi All. Quick question - if you pass the SJE online, do you have to do it at the OPC for stage 2? This is for different TOC’s. Many thanks

The SJE is part on the MMI. Are you certain it’s the SJE, that’s not a pass/fail test

 

[Speedbird100]

Just to clarify, you’ve failed TPE, you’ve lost both lives for them. You won’t be able to apply for TPE again.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Dec 2025 ==


The SJE is part on the MMI. Are you certain it’s the SJE, that’s not a pass/fail test

My bad, online one was SJT! Didn’t realise there was a difference!

 

[Ralph37]

Looking for help on the second stage of customer service platform assistance
Done the first test arctic show test anyone can help Please

 

[Horizon22]

Looking for help on the second stage of customer service platform assistance
Done the first test arctic show test anyone can help Please

What are you asking for assistance in/with? It isn't exactly clear.

 

[Ralph37]

The next stage of the process for avanti West Coast i have done the first assessment what is the next stage any help will be very much appreciated

 

[I2026]

Hi all, I have just posted on the SWR thread below. I have MMI coming up soon and that will be my final assessment, I appear to have been fast tracked through everything else and have completed all assessments and DMI interview within 6 weeks of application being submitted. When in my DMI interview, after I answered the first question (tell me a time you have adapted to a changing scenario) there was a long chit chat afterwards where they said I would be really good at the MMI. I still feel like I don't know what to expect however having read a lot of this forum yesterday whilst waiting for my account to be approved, it seems to be:

-You are asked to submit a series of examples around different experiences on paper (is this via email or do you do this on the day - is there any guidance or prep sent to you beforehand?)
-You are then given further questions based on what you submit, and some to time to write brief answers down to these.
-You are then interviewed and grilled on your answers, and they will try and wind you up / get you to bite.

My expectation will be that I submit an experience, so for example lets say I tell them about a time I dealt with a conflict in the control room with a superior while I was simultaneously managing a risk to life operational police event, they will then interrupt and say but how did you feel, why did you take that approach, what would you do differently e.t.c. I would then remain professional, calm and consistent and respond to their probing taking some humble pie where needed but also displaying some self belief and confidence in the action I took. We talk a lot about "legacy and learning" in the police and having sat through copious interviews I am fairly happy I can expand my answer and give some structure to satisfy the framework.

But there appears some mystery around the MMI so I would be keen to know if I have the right approach

 

[I2026]

I have a trainee driver assessment at the very end of December. I am looking to chat to people who have already done it and can remember exactly how some of the tests went. No speculation please. Feel free to DM me if you can discuss in detail.

In particular:

TEA-Occ
-How is the directory part done, I see people saying just look for symbol pairs and ignore the plumber category and text etc. but giving no reason as to why the symbol pairs are always the correct answer. Couldn’t that lead me to selecting symbol pairs that are not plumbers?
-What is the exact question are you asked at the beginning to tell you what to look for and circle?
-A hand drawing of how the test looks would be ideal for me to get my head around this one as I feel it is different from practice stuff I can find online.
-How much time do you have after the last beep to finish searching?

TRP 1b
-What can you remember about the text you were given, what it was about and the exact questions on it you were asked? I need as much detail as possible on this one.
-Is it just the one passage of text?
-Has anyone got example passages and questions for this?

TRP 2
-Training material says cables and dials which is obviously different from the practice material. Does anyone have a detailed explanation or could do a hand drawing of how this looks?
-Are these physical dials and cables or is this a paper test?

Do you still need to know all this? Happy to go into detail as just done it all (obviously I will keep it ethical and fair)

 

[RiverDon]

Hi all, I have just posted on the SWR thread below. I have MMI coming up soon and that will be my final assessment, I appear to have been fast tracked through everything else and have completed all assessments and DMI interview within 6 weeks of application being submitted. When in my DMI interview, after I answered the first question (tell me a time you have adapted to a changing scenario) there was a long chit chat afterwards where they said I would be really good at the MMI. I still feel like I don't know what to expect however having read a lot of this forum yesterday whilst waiting for my account to be approved, it seems to be:

-You are asked to submit a series of examples around different experiences on paper (is this via email or do you do this on the day - is there any guidance or prep sent to you beforehand?)
-You are then given further questions based on what you submit, and some to time to write brief answers down to these.
-You are then interviewed and grilled on your answers, and they will try and wind you up / get you to bite.

I've done the MMI twice and found it very tough although the second time was a bit less intense because I was better prepared. Both times my group was given the questions on paper at the second stage assessment as the very first thing we did before starting anything else. We were given 15 minutes to write out answers by hand but they only wanted a single sentence, or two at the very most. The assessor came round and read what everyone had written and suggested to a couple of people that they might want to come up with something else. Once the MMI started the interviewer read out the question and the answer I'd written and asked me to expand on it.

I'll send you a private message with a bit more info about my experiences which might help you.

 

[I2026]

I've done the MMI twice and found it very tough although the second time was a bit less intense because I was better prepared. Both times my group was given the questions on paper at the second stage assessment as the very first thing we did before starting anything else. We were given 15 minutes to write out answers by hand but they only wanted a single sentence, or two at the very most. The assessor came round and read what everyone had written and suggested to a couple of people that they might want to come up with something else. Once the MMI started the interviewer read out the question and the answer I'd written and asked me to expand on it.

I'll send you a private message with a bit more info about my experiences which might help you.

Thanks for the reply, very kind - I haven't worked out private messages yet, I don't think my new account permits them. I don't feel worried or phased by the MMI at all, I just wondered whether my description of what to expect was fair. I tend to over prepare and strive for excellence so the only real risk for me is over thinking or complicating it. I went into the DMI with examples that were way to heavy and complex, I had to strip it right down to generic and simple stuff in the end.

 

[Unobrow]

Do you still need to know all this? Happy to go into detail as just done it all (obviously I will keep it ethical and fair)

The poster concerned has asked similar questions previously. They pretty much want the answers given to them so they can hopefully sail through the early testing stages. Whilst most will give help and advice, this sort of expectation is beyond reasonable requesting and particularly unfair on everyone else who has to go through the stress of it all.

 

[RiverDon]

Thanks for the reply, very kind - I haven't worked out private messages yet, I don't think my new account permits them.

I can send you one and you can reply but I don't think you can start a conversation until you have 5? or 10? posts. Should be with you now anyway.

 

[I2026]

The poster concerned has asked similar questions previously. They pretty much want the answers given to them so they can hopefully sail through the early testing stages. Whilst most will give help and advice, this sort of expectation is beyond reasonable requesting and particularly unfair on everyone else who has to go through the stress of it all.

Understood, I will leave them to it then. I did think the queries were quite intense.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Dec 2025 ==

I can send you one and you can reply but I don't think you can start a conversation until you have 5? or 10? posts. Should be with you now anyway.

Thanks will reply now

 

[Shan8822]

Hello ,

I have an assessment day for Greater Anglia Mid Jan for a trainee train driver role and I have been given a small pack of things to revise but im not finding it very helpful. Most of the excercises I need someone to read out passages ect which I dont have at the moment . From reading other posts it seems the only thing that is revisable is the bourbon test ? Does anyone reccomend a site or software where i can practice hand coordination and the memory test with the chimes ? I dont want to go in blind but ive been over the pack they gave me a few times and it seems very vague /simple (which on the day i know it wont be) I have also tried to download the bourbon practice sheets thats pinned here but it doesnt work. Where can i get sheets to practice on please ?
For reference the tests in my email state I will be taking:

Bourbon /Tea-OCC
TRP1 / 2
WAFV
ATAVT
Hand co ordination
PIF
SJE
MMI

Any tips on these from people that have taken them recently would be greatly appreciated .

Thank you

 

[mcgrindah]

Hi,

Everyone has their own opinions on this and is entitled to them. My view is that you can and should practise for all of these tests.

I passed all of these first time over 2 assessment days and I don't think I would have passed had I not practised as much as I did. Others might say they also passed without doing any practise, which is great but we're all different. For me, with most things in life the more you practise the better you become.

Not everybody wants to spend money on practise materials, I saw it as a worthy investment to give myself the best possible chance of passing on the assessment days. I'm happy to share links to the materials I bought, feel free to DM me and I can get them over to you.

 

[Shan8822]

Hi,

Everyone has their own opinions on this and is entitled to them. My view is that you can and should practise for all of these tests.

I passed all of these first time over 2 assessment days and I don't think I would have passed had I not practised as much as I did. Others might say they also passed without doing any practise, which is great but we're all different. For me, with most things in life the more you practise the better you become.

Not everybody wants to spend money on practise materials, I saw it as a worthy investment to give myself the best possible chance of passing on the assessment days. I'm happy to share links to the materials I bought, feel free to DM me and I can get them over to you.

Hello ,

Many thanks for the reply. Yes I agree, I definatly think its better to be prepared so I want to revise as much as possible ! Tests dont come naturally to me either so Links to materials you practiced with would be great , thanks

 

[Horizon22]

The next stage of the process for avanti West Coast i have done the first assessment what is the next stage any help will be very much appreciated

You should have had correspondence from the company which tells you what this will be in summary.

 

[mcgrindah]

Hello ,

Many thanks for the reply. Yes I agree, I definatly think its better to be prepared so I want to revise as much as possible ! Tests dont come naturally to me either so Links to materials you practiced with would be great , thanks

E-products | Trainee Train Driver Info

traineetraindriverinfo.com

I bought the 4 dots exercise book online version and the Stage 2 software bundle.

Low Tones Test Track 1 | Trainee Train Driver Info

traineetraindriverinfo.com

I also used this to practise for the Tea Occ. I found the actual test much easier than this test track, so if you get good at this you'll be in good shape for the real thing.

 

[Shan8822]

Thats really kind , thank you for taking the time . Who did you attend your assessment day with may I ask? I am assuming no matter the company the tests will be similarJust confirming the stage 2 software bundle you reccomend is it for 103£ ?

Any further tips for the assessment day you can give me please ?

Many thanks

 

[mcgrindah]

I did my tests at the OPC and it was for an Arriva Rail London application.

Yes that bundle is £103. Expensive for sure, I really found it useful though, especially for the ATAVT and WAFV tests. The 2 hand one maybe not as much, as the joysticks you will use on the day will be completely different to using a console controller for practise, like I was.

For the MMI, do some searching on this forum and you should find most of the questions which you will be asked. That will help if you spend some time thinking of the best answers you can give to those questions. That interview is quite tough, for me it was just one interviewer but he was jumping around between questions. You should probably expect a bit of that, I think they do it to see how well you cope with things changing and thinking on your feet.

The way it worked for me, and I assume this is standard, is that everyone who passed all of the tests then got to the MMI. Fail any of them and you're out. So as much as you should practise for the MMI, you need to make sure you pass all other tests or you won't even get to that.

Wishing you the best of luck, practise as much as you as you can, go well rested on the day and just take one test at a time. You can do it!

 

[Ally2900]

Hello All

Hope you are all well and have had a good Christmas. I have been practicing the Scaat test using the OPC online resources and a couple of others. I do pretty well on the numbers and letters tests - getting down to lines 22 with good accuracy on the single letter and number tests. The only area I am finding really challenging is the symbols one. The double symbols test always for some reason trips me up and I can only go to 8-12 lines and that's when I max out. I don't believe this is enough to pass. I have tried to go one symbol at a time across the lines but I'm worried this also takes up too much time.

Does anyone know how many lines one needs to pass? And if anyone has recently passed a SCAAT can you please tell me what the symbols were like. Would like to hear what others think about the Scaat and how many lines they roughly did to pass. Thank you.

 

[I2026]

Hello ,

Many thanks for the reply. Yes I agree, I definatly think its better to be prepared so I want to revise as much as possible ! Tests dont come naturally to me either so Links to materials you practiced with would be great , thanks

Firstly it is Group Bourdon, not a chocolate biscuit. This is the exact attention to detail that is crucial in passing all these tests.

Preparation is certainly important but over prep is also a risk. The pack you should have been sent by your TOC should suffice, most of the tests are not practicable effectively but there are some that can be prepped better than others. Those are Group Bourdon, Vienna test (ATAVT) and to a certain extent the TRP test(s). The Bourdon test is easily found online via a Google search and you can do a full test as many times as you like - I did this and found I was going way too fast, it certainly helped me in the end. I only did 2 x 10 min tests before my assessment. The Vienna test is searchable on Youtube, there is very little there however what is on Youtube is exactly, and I mean exactly what you will face on the day. As for TRP just read a passage on something and practice digesting and making notes.

I found none of these tests too taxing on the day. The symbols test was simple as you can discount around 80% of the information on the sheets - all you are looking for is 2 symbols so you can look solely at those and mark them off the sheets. The other info is al irrelevant.

The 2 hand test is something you cannot practice or be prepared for until you do it. Even explaining it is tricky. You either can or you can't.

 

[Hutty94]

Hi all, apologies if this has already been answered but I can't find the answer. For the DFFT test, am I supoosed to memorise the codes for the day or will I get a new sheet with new info on it?

 

[GPZpilot]

Good Morning All, Happy New Year. I recently bought a 2-handed co-ordination practice pack from traineetraindriverinfo whuch recommends an xbox 360 console with windows 11. Never been a gamer so no experience with any of this kit, but the ball doesn't respond at all until the control is at least halfway to the end position in each direction then goes from 0-60 in a couple off mm, tops. There are no settings to reduce travel or sensitivity in the settings menu, or any games settings. Have I got a duff console or just sausage fingers? I can opeate a HIAB well enough.
Has anyone had this problem, know anything about any hidden settings, or used any different controllers more akin to the one in the test?
Many thanks for your replies

 

[Unobrow]

Good Morning All, Happy New Year. I recently bought a 2-handed co-ordination practice pack from traineetraindriverinfo whuch recommends an xbox 360 console with windows 11. Never been a gamer so no experience with any of this kit, but the ball doesn't respond at all until the control is at least halfway to the end position in each direction then goes from 0-60 in a couple off mm, tops. There are no settings to reduce travel or sensitivity in the settings menu, or any games settings. Have I got a duff console or just sausage fingers? I can opeate a HIAB well enough.
Has anyone had this problem, know anything about any hidden settings, or used any different controllers more akin to the one in the test?
Many thanks for your replies

Send it back for a full refund as either defective or nothing like the actual test so useless. The test controls are very sensitive.

 

[Shan8822]

Firstly it is Group Bourdon, not a chocolate biscuit. This is the exact attention to detail that is crucial in passing all these tests.

Preparation is certainly important but over prep is also a risk. The pack you should have been sent by your TOC should suffice, most of the tests are not practicable effectively but there are some that can be prepped better than others. Those are Group Bourdon, Vienna test (ATAVT) and to a certain extent the TRP test(s). The Bourdon test is easily found online via a Google search and you can do a full test as many times as you like - I did this and found I was going way too fast, it certainly helped me in the end. I only did 2 x 10 min tests before my assessment. The Vienna test is searchable on Youtube, there is very little there however what is on Youtube is exactly, and I mean exactly what you will face on the day. As for TRP just read a passage on something and practice digesting and making notes.

I found none of these tests too taxing on the day. The symbols test was simple as you can discount around 80% of the information on the sheets - all you are looking for is 2 symbols so you can look solely at those and mark them off the sheets. The other info is al irrelevant.

The 2 hand test is something you cannot practice or be prepared for until you do it. Even explaining it is tricky. You either can or you can't.

Hello,
Happy new year! Many thanks for the advice . I did want your opinion on the Bourbon if I could as I am finding I cannot get past line 10 /11 out of 26. If I am getting to these lines with only 1 or 2 mistakes do you think this is a passable mark? No matter how much I practice I cannot go any faster . I must admit I am finding the ATAVT the hardest of them all , it just seems impossible to capture everything in the time given. Am i right it is only 2 seconds per flashing image ? Any tips on this one . I have been told by leaning away from the screen it helps?

Many thanks

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Jan 2026 ==

I did my tests at the OPC and it was for an Arriva Rail London application.

Yes that bundle is £103. Expensive for sure, I really found it useful though, especially for the ATAVT and WAFV tests. The 2 hand one maybe not as much, as the joysticks you will use on the day will be completely different to using a console controller for practise, like I was.

For the MMI, do some searching on this forum and you should find most of the questions which you will be asked. That will help if you spend some time thinking of the best answers you can give to those questions. That interview is quite tough, for me it was just one interviewer but he was jumping around between questions. You should probably expect a bit of that, I think they do it to see how well you cope with things changing and thinking on your feet.

The way it worked for me, and I assume this is standard, is that everyone who passed all of the tests then got to the MMI. Fail any of them and you're out. So as much as you should practise for the MMI, you need to make sure you pass all other tests or you won't even get to that.

Wishing you the best of luck, practise as much as you as you can, go well rested on the day and just take one test at a time. You can do it!

Many thanks and happy new year !!

 

[RiverDon]

Hello,
Happy new year! Many thanks for the advice . I did want your opinion on the Bourbon if I could as I am finding I cannot get past line 10 /11 out of 26. If I am getting to these lines with only 1 or 2 mistakes do you think this is a passable mark? No matter how much I practice I cannot go any faster . I must admit I am finding the ATAVT the hardest of them all , it just seems impossible to capture everything in the time given. Am i right it is only 2 seconds per flashing image ? Any tips on this one . I have been told by leaning away from the screen it helps?

I was consistently getting 10 or 11 lines on the Group Bourdon test in practise on paper with no omissions or errors and I passed. Concentrate your practise on getting no mistakes at all rather than speed as I'm pretty sure that's what they're looking for. Just keep doing it whenever you have a spare 10 minutes, over and over again until you recognise the shapes without trying. You can even turn the pages upside down and start from the top (which was the bottom before) to save paper.

In my opinion the ATAVT test is definitely the hardest and most unpredictable one and also probably the hardest to practice for. The picture is on screen for 1 second or just under (definitely not as long as 2 seconds) but it's an adaptive test so the better you do at it the more complicated and busy the pictures will become. I guess if you find it ends up showing you a normal picture of just a Fiat 500 on its own or something, you probably aren't doing so well at it.

 

[MaxCherry25]

Hello,

I’ve found this thread very helpful. I have a medical coming up next week and wanted to clarify a couple of points. I had anxiety many years ago and a minor shoulder issue that has since been resolved and is no longer ongoing. I’m slightly concerned about whether this could affect the medical, though I may be overthinking it. Any advice would be appreciated.