Skip to the main content
BritWise — Life in the UK Test Practice
Start free test
Final rehearsal · Test 24 of 24

Life in the UK practice test 24: The Last Paper

Paper 24 is the last of the set. If you have worked through the others, you have now answered well over five hundred questions drawn from every chapter of the official handbook.

How to sit this one. Sit it under full conditions one last time. If you pass this one comfortably, book the real test.

24 questions in 45 minutes, with 18 correct to pass — the same 75% the official test asks for. Nothing is saved to an account: your progress stays in this browser, so you can close the tab and pick the paper up where you left it.

Questions
24
Time limit
45 minutes
Pass mark
18 of 24 (75%)
How do you want to practise?

Answers and explanations

Every question in paper 24, with the right answer and the handbook section it comes from. Open it after you have had a go.

Show all 24 answers and explanations

  1. 1. What do people traditionally eat on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins?

    • Pancakes — correct answer
    • Hot cross buns
    • Christmas pudding
    • Haggis

    Shrove Tuesday is often called Pancake Day, because people traditionally eat pancakes on the day before Lent starts. Handbook section 4.4.

  2. 2. In which year was Magna Carta agreed?

    • 1215 — correct answer
    • 1314
    • 1415
    • 1066

    Magna Carta was agreed in 1215. Its name is Latin for the Great Charter. Handbook section 3.6.

  3. 3. How large was the British Empire by 1900?

    • It covered only India
    • It was smaller than the French empire
    • It had no overseas territory
    • It was the largest empire the world has ever seen — correct answer

    By 1900 the British Empire was the largest empire the world has ever seen. It covered India, Australia and large parts of Africa. Handbook section 3.15.

  4. 4. How many national parks are there in England, Wales and Scotland?

    • 15 — correct answer
    • 5
    • 25
    • 50

    There are 15 national parks in England, Wales and Scotland, protecting some of the finest countryside in the UK. Handbook section 4.12.

  5. 5. In which English county is the Anglo-Saxon burial site of Sutton Hoo?

    • Surrey
    • Suffolk — correct answer
    • Somerset
    • Sussex

    Sutton Hoo is in Suffolk, in the east of England. It is the burial place of one of the kings of East Anglia. Handbook section 3.3.

  6. 6. What kind of programmes are Coronation Street and EastEnders?

    • Soap operas — correct answer
    • News programmes
    • Nature documentaries
    • Talent shows

    Coronation Street and EastEnders are soap operas, long-running dramas that follow the lives of people in one place. Handbook section 4.11.

  7. 7. In which year was Ireland divided into two parts?

    • 1918
    • 1922 — correct answer
    • 1928
    • 1916

    Ireland was divided in 1922, following a peace treaty the year before. The two parts went separate ways. Handbook section 3.17.

  8. 8. How many capital cities do the four countries of the UK have between them?

    • Four — correct answer
    • One
    • Two
    • Three

    Each of the four countries has its own capital: London for England, Edinburgh for Scotland, Cardiff for Wales and Belfast for Northern Ireland. Handbook section 2.3.

  9. 9. What is devolution?

    • The transfer of certain powers from central government to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — correct answer
    • The transfer of all law-making power to local councils
    • The handing of government powers to the monarch
    • The removal of the House of Lords

    Devolution means giving nations within the UK the power to decide some matters for themselves, while the UK Parliament keeps others. Handbook section 5.9.

  10. 10. What does a school governor do?

    • Helps set the way a school is run and holds its leadership to account — correct answer
    • Teaches lessons in place of a teacher
    • Inspects schools on behalf of the government
    • Decides the national curriculum

    School governors help decide how a school is run, from its aims to its budget. In Scotland the equivalent is membership of a school board. Handbook section 5.18.

  11. 11. What were the supporters of King Charles I in the Civil War called?

    • Jacobites
    • Whigs
    • Cavaliers — correct answer
    • Roundheads

    The king's supporters were called Cavaliers. Parliament's supporters were known as Roundheads. Handbook section 3.10.

  12. 12. How does the law treat an attack on someone because of their religion or ethnic origin?

    • It is a criminal offence and is treated especially seriously — correct answer
    • It is a matter for the civil courts only
    • It is dealt with by the person's employer
    • It is not covered by the criminal law

    Attacking or harassing someone because of their race or religion is a crime, and the courts treat that motivation as making the offence worse. Handbook section 5.16.

  13. 13. What is the job of the police in the UK?

    • To protect life and property, keep the peace and prevent and detect crime — correct answer
    • To pass new laws about crime
    • To decide the sentence for a convicted person
    • To collect council tax

    The police protect life and property, keep the peace and investigate crime. Making law is for Parliament and sentencing is for the courts. Handbook section 5.14.

  14. 14. Who becomes Prime Minister?

    • The leader of the party that can command a majority in the House of Commons — correct answer
    • The oldest member of the House of Lords
    • The candidate with the most votes across the whole country
    • The person chosen by the Supreme Court

    The Prime Minister is the leader of the party in power. The post depends on holding the confidence of the elected House of Commons. Handbook section 5.6.

  15. 15. Who was the first woman Prime Minister of the UK?

    • Theresa May
    • Margaret Thatcher — correct answer
    • Emmeline Pankhurst
    • Queen Elizabeth II

    Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to become Prime Minister of the UK. She led a Conservative government from 1979. Handbook section 3.19.

  16. 16. Which poet wrote 'The Daffodils', a poem inspired by the Lake District?

    • William Wordsworth — correct answer
    • Lord Byron
    • Wilfred Owen
    • William Blake

    William Wordsworth wrote 'The Daffodils', one of the best-loved poems in English, after a walk in the Lake District. Handbook section 4.10.

  17. 17. What does the law require of television and radio broadcasters in their political coverage?

    • They must be politically balanced and give fair coverage to rival views — correct answer
    • They must support the government of the day
    • They must avoid politics altogether
    • They must charge parties for airtime

    Broadcasters are required to be impartial and to give balanced coverage to opposing parties, a duty that is especially strict during election campaigns. Handbook section 5.12.

  18. 18. Why must people settling in the UK show they can speak English and understand life here?

    • So they can take a full part in everyday life and in their community — correct answer
    • So they can be given a job by the government
    • So they can pay less tax
    • So they can vote in another country

    The language and knowledge requirements exist so that new residents can take a full part in everyday life, work and community life in the UK. Handbook section 1.3.

  19. 19. Which of these plays was written by Shakespeare?

    • Macbeth — correct answer
    • The Importance of Being Earnest
    • Peter Grimes
    • Under Milk Wood

    Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's plays, along with Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Handbook section 4.7.

  20. 20. Which British scientist invented the World Wide Web?

    • Sir Tim Berners-Lee — correct answer
    • Alan Turing
    • James Goodfellow
    • Sir Frank Whittle

    Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, the system that lets people share pages and links over the internet. Handbook section 4.16.

  21. 21. For what is John Keats remembered?

    • His poetry — correct answer
    • His paintings
    • His inventions
    • His work in Parliament

    John Keats is remembered for his poetry, written in the early nineteenth century when he died at only 25. Handbook section 4.17.

  22. 22. How old must you be to buy alcohol in a pub in the UK?

    • 18 — correct answer
    • 16
    • 21
    • 17

    You must be 18 or over to buy alcohol in a pub, a shop or a night club in the UK. Handbook section 4.13.

  23. 23. Select the TWO things you must show to become a permanent resident of the UK.

    • That you can speak and read English — correct answer
    • That you understand life in the UK — correct answer
    • That you own property in the UK
    • That you were born in a Commonwealth country

    Applicants for permanent residence or citizenship must show that they can speak and read English and that they have a good understanding of life in the UK. Handbook section 1.3.

  24. 24. Which city elects a mayor who is the effective leader of its administration?

    • London — correct answer
    • Bath
    • Aberdeen
    • Bangor

    London elects a mayor who runs the city's administration, and several other English cities and regions have adopted directly elected mayors too. Handbook section 5.10.

What paper 24 asks about

These 24 questions come from 5 chapters of the official handbook. By the difficulty the questions were written at, that is 15 easy, 8 medium and 1 harder.

Chapters in this paper

The topics it leans on most

Revise before the next paper

A mock test tells you where you stand. These pages are where you close the gaps.