About us

Bristol Groundschool is the trading name of Bristol Groundschool Ltd, a company registered in England number 02643481. Our registered office is Windmill Road, Kenn, Clevedon, BS21 6UJ.

Founded in 1992 by ex-RAF TriStar Captain Alex Whittingham, Bristol Groundschool is UK & Europe’s leading specialist in distance learning and training for EASA/UK CAA Professional Pilot’s Licence theory exams. Bristol Groundschool has a stellar reputation in the industry for being the most effective, trusted and manageable training system available.

Our Students Lounge in the Bristol Groundschool Office

Our caring and professional staff will support individuals throughout their training. Students who complete Bristol Groundschool’s industry-leading courses are prepared for an exciting, competitive and rewarding career in the aviation industry. Our learning system combines the best traditional training methods with modern interactive training tools, and we have a proven success rate far in excess of traditional classroom-based teaching or iPad-only learning.

We provide training direct to student pilots studying for professional examinations as well as training materials to other Aviation Training Organisations in the UK, Europe, and across the rest of the world

Our course materials consist of proprietary computer-based training software called ‘ATPdigital’ and are supported by our online examination practice website BGSonline. Hard or soft copy manuals are available as an optional extra.

Headquartered in North Somerset, UK, our courses are also available through our many training partners across the world.

At our site in the UK, we are also an examination centre, allowing our students, and those of other schools, to sit EASA/UK CAA professional pilot examinations conducted by the UK CAA and Austro Control.

Student Testimonials

Here is just a small selection of testimonials from our past students about their time studying at Bristol Groundschool. To read more, please visit our Student Testimonials page.

“The Bristol Groundschool webinars are second to none. The development of the distance learning model for ATPLs to a hybrid between integrated and distance learning has really filled a gap in the market. Being able to access and learn the complete course in such a flexible and user-friendly way has been crucial for me, whilst trying to balance a 60-hour working week, 2 children, and a partner at university! Thank you BGS, I will be forever in your debt.” – Jonathan Griffin

“Wanted to thank you and everybody at BGS for all the help and support – couldn’t be more grateful for all the time and energy all the instructors gave and the quick establishment of the webinars which were so useful! I couldn’t recommend BGS more highly to anybody who asks me, and although its been a tough journey I’m very glad I chose BGS to study with.” – Olivia Olphert

“I chose Bristol Groundschool because of its great reputation and I am very pleased I did. The instructors are all industry experienced and the quality of teaching is excellent.  The computer-based training material is of a high quality and includes tests all the way through to check your level of understanding. I passed all my exams first time.” – Peter Wood