What a school gives you
- Call-over partners. Calling a run aloud to another candidate, and having them check every turn, is how most people get ready for appearances. A school is where you find them.
- Questions like the examiners'. Schools set runs and points the way appearances do, and the people who teach have been through it.
- Somewhere to work, with maps on the wall and others at the same stage.
- Materials: run books, point lists and, at some schools, their own apps.
TfL does not regulate them
TfL lists six schools on its Learn the Knowledge page and says plainly that they are independent and not controlled or regulated by TfL. No school can speed up your application or your appearances: TfL deals with applications in the order they arrive and offers no fast track.
What to ask before you join
- What does it cost, and is it a monthly fee or a one-off? Some schools are free.
- When is it open? Some run classes on a few afternoons a week; others have a room open around the clock.
- Where is it, and can you get there on the days you will use it? Online schools suit some candidates; most still call over in person.
- Does it teach your Knowledge? Some schools serve only All London candidates. If you are going for a yellow badge, ask about your sector.
- Who is there at your stage? A school busy with candidates at Stages 4 and 5 is a good place to be at Stage 3.
Schools and apps together
A school gives you people; an app gives you the hours in between. TheLTK plans each day's runs and points, checks your calls turn by turn and brings back what you are about to forget, so the time you spend at school goes on calling over. Our partner school, The Taxi Academy, runs free classes at Angel Gate and in Battersea.
See every Knowledge school, with where each one teaches and how to reach it.