Which dates and numbers should you learn for the Life in the UK test?

The handbook says dates of birth and death are not required. Many events in the book have dates, though, and some of those dates are worth learning.

Treat the years below as anchors. Around each anchor, learn what came before and what came after. You do not need every year in the book.

Which numbers belong to the test itself?

The test has 24 questions and lasts 45 minutes. The pass mark is 75 percent, which is 18 right answers.

The number 18 turns up all over the handbook. It is the pass mark, and it is also the voting age, the age for buying alcohol and the age for standing as an MP. Keep these apart in your head, and remember what each 18 is for.

Which early dates matter?

The Roman army invaded under the Emperor Claudius in AD 43 and left Britain in AD 410. William of Normandy defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

King John agreed to Magna Carta in 1215. The Black Death reached Britain in 1348. Henry V won the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.

The Wars of the Roses ended at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Henry Tudor became Henry VII and began the House of Tudor.

Which dates matter for the Tudors, the Stuarts and Parliament?

Henry VIII was king from 1509 to 1547. The English defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588. Elizabeth I died in 1603, and James VI of Scotland became James I of England.

The civil war between the king and Parliament began in 1642. Charles I was executed in 1649. Oliver Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector until his death in 1658, and Charles II came back as king in May 1660.

Habeas Corpus was written into law in 1679. William of Orange took the throne in 1688, and the Bill of Rights followed in 1689. The Act of Union with Scotland was agreed in 1707.

Which dates matter for empire, industry and the vote?

The Royal Navy won the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in 1815. Ireland joined the union in 1801.

The slave trade was banned for British ships and British ports in 1807. The Emancipation Act of 1833 ended slavery across the whole Empire.

The Reform Act of 1832 increased the number of people who could vote. Victoria became queen in 1837 and reigned until 1901.

In 1918 the vote was extended to women over 30. In 1928 men and women over 21 could vote on equal terms. In 1969 the voting age was lowered to 18.

Which dates matter for the twentieth century and after?

The First World War lasted from 1914 to 1918 and ended at 11.00 am on 11 November 1918. The Second World War began in 1939 and ended in 1945, and the Allies landed in Normandy on 6 June 1944.

Ireland became two countries in 1922, and Northern Ireland stayed in the UK. The National Health Service was set up in 1948.

In 1979 Margaret Thatcher took office as the first woman to be Prime Minister. The Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. The Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly began work in 1999.

The EU referendum took place on 23 June 2016. Leave won with 51.9 percent against 48.1 percent, and the UK left formally on 31 January 2020.

Which ages and legal limits are in the Life in the UK handbook?

You must be 18 to vote, to stand for election as an MP, to buy alcohol, to enter a betting shop and to play the National Lottery. You must be 17 to drive a car or motorcycle and 16 to ride a moped.

At 16 and 17, a person may have beer or wine with food in a hotel or restaurant, when an adult over 18 is with them. Jury service can be asked of people on the electoral register aged 18 to 70, or 18 to 75 in England and Wales.

A National Insurance number is sent to young people just before their 16th birthday. A driving licence can be used until you are 70, and after that you renew it every three years.

Which counts do people mix up?

A jury has 12 members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 15 members in Scotland.

A General Election must be held at least every five years. About 20 senior MPs are chosen by the Prime Minister for the cabinet.

Make a small table for yourself with three columns: the number, the thing it counts and the place. Many wrong answers come from the right number attached to the wrong place.

What if a fact has changed since the handbook was printed?

The handbook was printed before some changes. The monarch is one example. The handbook describes Queen Elizabeth II, and King Charles III succeeded her on 8 September 2022.

Our practice questions follow the handbook, because the test is set from it. When the world has moved on, the explanation adds a line to say so. Learn the handbook answer first and read that line second.

Check yourself

Can you say the year for each of these without looking: 1066, 1215, 1688, 1707, 1807, 1928, 1948, 1998?

Can you say what each of these numbers counts: 12, 15, 17, 18 and 21?

Cover this page and write the five dates you find hardest. Check them tomorrow.