UK Citizenship Test: Welcome to Pub Quiz Britain

Migrants applying for passports to live in Britain will have to learn about Shakespeare, Brunel and the National Anthem as part of a remodelling of the citizenship test.

The proposed patriotic passport purchaser will see a move away from the official Life in the UK: A Journey to Citizenship handbook; which informs migrants about the Human Rights Act, benefit claiming and how to read a gas meter.

The current test comprises 24 questions about life in the UK; ranging from information about where to go for information about training opportunities, to how many parliamentary constituencies there are.

The test then has some rather obscure bits of ‘trivia’ such as when did married women get the right to divorce their husband and what proportion of people living in the UK in 2001 said they were Muslim.

(You can find a practice test here: http://www.ukcitizenshiptest.co.uk)

I sat the practice test and scored 15 out of 24 -the pass mark is 18.

Having sat the new citizenship test run by The Sun – scoring 100% – I find it puzzling as to why the Government is going to ask these questions to migrants when most Brits probably don’t know the answers themselves.

The paper asked 1000 people – demographics unknown – 10 questions about British history and culture in what I’ve dubbed the citiSUNship test.

The results showed 37% didn’t know the first line of God Save the Queen whilst a quarter didn’t know when the Battle of Hastings occurred.

But an amazing 95% knew who stole from the rich to give to the poor. (You can view the questions and results here: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4416600/37-dont-know-first-line-of-God-Save-the-Queen.html

Does this mean we should be exiled from the land until our general knowledge of British History is up to scratch?

Just because you don’t know who composed Pomp and Circumstance Military March No. 1, or Land of Hope and Glory as it’s better known, doesn’t make you any less British – if such a thing is possible. Neither does attaining an A grade in a GCSE about Nazi Germany make you a Nazi.  I wrote my dissertation on the American Civil War but this doesn’t make me an American or Abraham Lincoln – unfortunately.

Again this links back to why ask these questions in the first place? Especially when some people who are born and bred in this country cannot answer the questions themselves. (Personally, I think there should be an emphasis on this in schools as part of a balanced curriculum.)

I think if you are planning to move to another country you should learn about it first. Much like when you go abroad you should try to observe local customs – within reason-  and learn basic phrases out of respect to your ‘host.’

The British demographic has changed vastly over the last half century. The break-up of the Empire after World War II and the introduction of European laws on movement of people have seen it become a multi-cultural ‘melting pot’.

This influx poses a challenge to the host nation. A lack of resources to cope with an already ageing population and loss of jobs whilst  many fear a rise in Islamic immigrants will increase religious tensions with Britain’s traditional ‘Christian heritage’ – which itself is based on other forms of worship.

The Home Office stated to the BBC the test would help improve community cohesion and integration. I can imagine it now. Migrants from all over the world trying to initiate a conversation with something along  the lines of ‘So the Battle of Hastings was in 1066. What do you think about that?’

Who knows, migrants may put the England football team to shame with their recital of the national anthem.

These sorts of questions belong in two places: pub quizzes and school examinations. Not as a mandatory test to determine where you can begin a new life.