In 1921 a peace treaty was signed and in 1922 Ireland became two countries.

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a series of poems in English about a group of people going to Canterbury on a pilgrimage. This collection of poems is called The Canterbury Tales.

Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrated in 2012.

The UK is formed by  England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Many famous sports, including cricket, football, lawn tennis, golf and rugby, began in Britain.

There are 129 members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), elected by a form of proportional representation.

The rose is the flower associated with England.

In the 2009 Citizenship Survey, 70% of people identified themselves as Christian. Much smaller proportions identified themselves as Muslim (4%), Hindu (2%), Sikh (1%), Jewish or Buddhist (both less than 0.5%), and 2% of people followed another religion.

After the Norman Conquest, the king and his noblemen had spoken Norman French and the peasants had continued to speak Anglo-Saxon. Gradually these two languages combined to become one English language.

There are also several islands which are closely linked with the UK but are not part of it: the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. These have their own governments and are called ‘Crown dependencies’.

The 39 Steps (1935) was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

The House of Lords can suggest amendments or propose new laws, which are then discussed by MPs. The House of Lords checks laws that have been passed by the House of Commons to ensure they are fit for purpose and it also holds the government to account to make sure that it is working in the best interests of the people.

MPs are elected through a system called ‘first past the post’. In  constituency, the candidate who gets the most votes is elected.

Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days. On each day of the festival a candle is lit on a stand of eight candles (called a menorah) to remember the story of the festival, where oil that should have lasted only a day did so for eight.

The ‘Concorde’ began carrying passengers in 1976.

In the new Church of England, the king, not the Pope, would have the power to appoint bishops and order how people should worship.

In 1947, independence was granted to nine countries, including India, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

Pubs are usually open during the day from 11.00 am (12 noon on Sundays).

This statement is true.

The first farmers arrived in Britain 6,000 years ago.

Margaret Thatcher was the daughter of a grocer from Grantham in Lincolnshire.

Catherine Howard was a cousin of Anne Boleyn.

Many of the Viking invaders stayed in Britain – especially in the east and north of England in an area known as the Danelaw (many place names there, such as Grimsby and Scunthorpe come from the Viking languages).