Bradleys

Bradleys is a Driving School located in Harpenden, England. The Bradleys brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the company including training driving instructors and vehicle rental.
The driving school has fifteen driving instructors which makes it one of the largest driving schools in Hertfordshire.
The Bradleys motto is sine qua non - essential requirement, bringing together the usefulness and safety aspects of the car and the driving school. Many of its instructors are famous across the whole of the county, especially at the University of Hertfordshire.
Background
Bradleys was established in 1994 in Chelmsford, Essex when founder Charles Henry Bradley bought his first new, three door car from a now defunct dealership on Southend Road (old A130) in Howe Green, Chelmsford. Charles was very happy with his small hatchback and soon decided he should share his happiness with other people. He decided the best way he could do this would be to teach young people to drive in his pride and joy. Thus he would be able to spend most of his spare time in his car talking to others about how to properly use it. Time passed and Charles enjoyed his days more and more, but his employer Spin Eless and Son began to complain about him not putting his all into his work and his dear wife, Clara, began also to complain about his lack of attention to her and to doing the overtime at work, the earnings from which they used to significantly supplement his meagre basic wage.
Thus it was that Charles looked in to how he could make money from his hobby, because he wasn’t allowed to charge for his tuition, and decided to train to be an Approved Driving Instructor which would allow him to take money from his pupils. And so it came to pass that Charles studied and studied, and he trained and he trained, and he practiced and he practiced, and he passed first his Part 1 exam, then his Part 2 and finally his Part 3 and made it onto the register as an ADI. Now, he told himself and his wife, now I can spend all day in my gleaming xxx and show other people how to drive it, and I can get paid for it. Life is such deep joy, he decided. The day that his official Green ADI badge arrived was a momentous one for Charles and the second person he told was Spin’s younger brother Lif, the HR Director of the family firm for whom he worked, when he politely told them he would no longer be providing them with his services as second fiddle bean counter.
Charles was now free to indulge his passion and be paid for it. So popular was he with his pupils, that word spread throughout the county and people would come from far and wide - by bus, by train, even by bicycle - to take lessons with him for driving. So it was that Charles had to take on an apprentice driving instructor to help him with his work and he trained his son, Charles Digby Bradley, to teach people to drive. Beginning in a single room employing an assistant (his wife) to take the calls and make the bookings, they built the business into a thriving teaching operation. Bradleys rapidly expanded, acquired the adjoining garage, and employed sixty three people by 2006.
Luckily, no great calamity such as the burning to the ground of their premises, reversed the fortunes of Bradleys and business was such that each year of the new millennium, Charles was able to provide each of his pupils with a hamper from Harrods as a Christmas gift.
Charles was looking to expand his operation geographically, but as an Essex lad born and bred, he had difficulty in knowing the roads of other counties - road knowledge being an essential part of a driving instructor’s abilities - and so he sold the rights to the rest of the country to the Fegan family, whose business plans were a tight fit with his own.
The Fegan family rapidly improved and expanded upon the initial business model used by Charles and his son, providing expert, friendly, patient and safe driving tuition to the good folk of Hertfordshire, allowing the company to become one of the largest driving schools in that county by early 2009, with fifteen driving instructors under its auspices.
Significant Events in Bradleys History
*1994 (April): Charles Henry Bradley buys his first new car
*1994 (May): Charles Henry Bradley gives his first unpaid driving lesson
*1994 (October): Charles Henry Bradley gets ‘advice’ from his wife about work and relationships
*1995 (June): Charles Henry Bradley passes his exams and becomes and ADI
*1995 (June): Charles Henry Bradley gives his first paid driving lesson
*1995 (June): Charles Henry Bradley Hands his notice in to Lif, younger brother of Spin and HR Director of family firm Spin Eless and Sons, impoverished suppliers of hampers to Knightsbridge stores.
*1997: Bradleys undergoes a transformation when taken over by Bradleys son Charles Digby Bradley.
*1998: No fire guts the Bradleys premises, but Charles Digby has a bonfire to burn a lot of rubbish in his garden.
*1999: Bradleys investigates the possibility of opening a branch in Malta and sends Eddie Bradley, second cousin of Charles Digby, to investigate.
*2000: No Christmas card is received from Eddie.
*2006: Fegan family open Bradleys in Hertfordshire and take on their first instructor, Linda.
*2007: Bradleys Hertfordshire expands to 10 instructors and Linda leaves to have her baby son Henry. Matt passes his Part 3 first time. Ozlem joins as a PDI.
*2008: Bradleys Hertfordshire expands to 12 instructors. Ozlem passes her Part 3. Ian joins. Steve Allum passes his Part 3 on New Years eve.
*2008 (December): Still no Christmas card from Eddie
*2009 (January): Bradleys Hertfordshire expands to 15 instructors. Mike nearly passes his Part 3 and discovers he should do his paperwork better.
*2009 (February): Bradleys Hertfordshire opens its training school for driving instructors.
Products and Services
Bradleys is primarily a provider of driving tuition to those who wish to pass their car driving test. They also offer Pass Plus and some publications such as the highway code and the theory test questions. Recently the company has opened its training school for driving instructors, providing low cost affordable training for people wishing to change careers to become a driving instructor.
Royal Warrants
Bradleys does not, as yet, have any Royal Warrants
Egyptian Cobra
Bradleys has never hired an Egyptian Cobra, nor a cobra of any kind, nor is it likely to.
Criticism
Bradleys has been criticised for not having an apostrophe included in its name.
The Apostrophe Debate
Whilst criticism has been levelled at Bradleys by various literary heavyweights for failing to include an apostrophe in the company name, it is said to be the result of significant management machinations when the Fegan family took over the Hertfordshire operation. “We have decided that we should emulate Harrods,” Tim Fegan said in a company press release at the time. “Harrods was set up by Mr Harrod in the East End of London and there is no sign of an apostrophe in the store name,” ibid.
Harrods calls itself Harrods and describes itself as a department store. Bradleys calls itself Bradleys and describes itself as a driving school. On the store website, Harrods does not describe itself as Harrods Department Store, where the question of an apostrophe might be questioned a little more closely, as it could then be describing itself as the department store of Harrod. Interestingly on its website, one can find Harrods Boutique, Harrods Rewards, Harrods Swimwear and Harrods Business where again the presence or absence of an apostrophe is perhaps a little more moot. Perhaps when one has accepted that the name of the store is Harrods, the addition of an apostrophe here would be a little confusing, cf “Harrods’ History” on their entry.
To the extent described above, Bradleys and Harrods find themselves in fine company with such firms as Selfridges, Browns of Chester, Bentalls and Whiteleys, all being founded by Mr Selfridge, Mr Brown, Mr Bentall and Mr Whiteley respectively. For Marks and Spencer of course there is no apostrophe issue to grapple with as, luckily, it was founded by Mr Marks and Mr Spencer.

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