In the UK we just call them 'driving lessons.' The Americans terms as outlined by Susan and Michael would probably make British people chuckle a little because they sound a little strange (they do to me anyway!) In the UK you have to pass a theory test, before you can take the actual practical 'driving test.' So we have the theory test, and then we have the practical test which nearly everyone just calls the 'driving test.' People do not take 'theory classes', only driving lessons (practical lessons where you physically learn to drive the car.) We study the highway code and rules of the road by ourselves at home (there are now books and computer programmes to make this much easier) and if we have a question we can ask our instructor during our lessons. I passed my test three weeks ago, and the Driving Standard's Agency reckons it takes around 35-40 hours worth of lessons in general before people are ready to take their test. In the UK automatic cars are rare, so nearly everyone learns in cars with manual gearboxes (which is different to the US where manual cars are rare) and this takes more time to master.

Informally, particularly if you take the class in high school, we call it 'driver's ed.', short for 'driver's education'. As Michael says, the practical portion is called 'behind-the-wheel training'. At my public high school we had a half-semester of learning the rules of the road, followed by practical training on simulators, but I don't recall long the simulator training was. You could also sign up for behind-the-wheel training where you went out on the road with an instructor. I don't remember how long that was, just that I did it during the summer.

It's offered in some U.S. public high schools, and when it is, as Susan612 knows, it is called "driver's ed" or (sorry, I hate it too) "driver ed." There are numerous private businesses that teach people how to drive, and they mostly call themselves, and are called, "driving schools."

We just call them "driving lessons" in Ireland. And here we only have to do practical lessons as far as I am aware.

We have two types just like in Spain. We call them "in class" and "behind the wheel". So you could say "I took ten behind the wheel classes"