Cheat sheet
A modern, thriving society
Customs and festivals, sport, the arts, food and the places and institutions of modern Britain.
The facts to remember, in one place. Drill them with mock exams and spaced repetition in Life in the UK Test.
Download on theApp StoreSport in the UK
- ◆ Football is the UK’s most popular sport.
- ◆ Wimbledon is the world’s oldest tennis tournament, held in London.
- ◆ Cricket originated in England and has its own laws and traditions.
- ◆ The Grand National and the Derby are famous horse-racing events.
- ◆ The UK hosted the Olympic Games in London in 1908, 1948 and 2012.
British festivals and traditions
- ◆ Bonfire Night (5 November) remembers the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
- ◆ Remembrance Day (11 November) honours those who died in wars; people wear poppies.
- ◆ Christmas (25 December) and Easter are the main Christian festivals.
- ◆ Other celebrations include Diwali, Hanukkah, Eid al-Fitr and Vaisakhi.
- ◆ Hogmanay is the Scottish celebration of New Year.
British inventions and discoveries
- ◆ Sir Isaac Newton described gravity and the laws of motion.
- ◆ Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin.
- ◆ The steam engine was developed in Britain during the Industrial Revolution.
- ◆ Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web.
- ◆ The world’s first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, was created in Scotland.
British writers and literature
- ◆ William Shakespeare wrote plays and poems and was born in Stratford-upon-Avon.
- ◆ The Brontë sisters wrote novels including Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.
- ◆ Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and Great Expectations.
- ◆ The Bard’s phrases are still part of everyday English.
- ◆ The Booker Prize is a major award for fiction in the UK.
Music and the arts in the UK
- ◆ The Proms is a famous series of classical concerts held in London each summer.
- ◆ The Last Night of the Proms is a well-known cultural event.
- ◆ British composers include Henry Purcell and Edward Elgar.
- ◆ The Turner Prize is an award for modern art.
- ◆ The UK has many world-famous theatres and orchestras.
British landmarks and famous places
- ◆ Stonehenge is an ancient prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England.
- ◆ The Giant’s Causeway is a natural landmark in Northern Ireland.
- ◆ Snowdonia is a mountainous national park in Wales.
- ◆ Loch Lomond and the Trossachs are a famous national park in Scotland.
- ◆ The Tower of London holds the Crown Jewels.
Famous Britons to know
- ◆ Sir Isaac Newton — described gravity and the laws of motion.
- ◆ Sir Winston Churchill — wartime Prime Minister.
- ◆ Florence Nightingale — pioneer of modern nursing.
- ◆ Sir Tim Berners-Lee — invented the World Wide Web.
- ◆ Emmeline Pankhurst — leader of the suffragette movement.
Public holidays in the UK
- ◆ Christmas Day (25 December) and Boxing Day (26 December) are public holidays.
- ◆ New Year’s Day (1 January) is a public holiday across the UK.
- ◆ Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays.
- ◆ There are also spring and summer bank holidays.
- ◆ Some bank holidays differ between the four nations of the UK.
The UK as a diverse society
- ◆ People have settled in the UK from many parts of the world.
- ◆ The UK has many faiths, languages and cultural traditions.
- ◆ Festivals such as Diwali, Eid and Hanukkah are widely celebrated.
- ◆ Tolerance of different faiths and beliefs is a fundamental British value.
- ◆ Discrimination because of race or religion is against the law.