Life in the UK Test History Questions
Chapter 3 of the handbook · 234 practice questions with an explanation for every option
24 questions from all five chapters in 45 minutes, with your score for history so you know where you stand.
Free history drillWhich of these statements is correct?
Select one answer
Chapter 3: A long and illustrious history
History is the longest chapter of the handbook and the largest part of our question bank. It runs from the first hunter-gatherers to the start of the 21st century, and the questions turn on dates, rulers, battles, inventions and the people who shaped the country.
- On the real test
- Questions come only from the handbook; the Home Office does not publish how many come from each chapter
- On our mock exam
- 9 of 24 questions, with your score for this chapter in the result
- Our drill
- 10 questions from 234 history questions, untimed, a note on every option after each answer; one free attempt, unlimited with a pass
What chapter 3 covers
- Early Britain: the Stone Age, Stonehenge, Skara Brae, the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Romans, Boudicca and Hadrian’s Wall
- The Anglo-Saxons, Vikings and Normans: Sutton Hoo, Alfred the Great, the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and the Domesday Book
- The Middle Ages: Magna Carta, the Black Death, the Hundred Years War, the origins of Parliament and the Wars of the Roses
- The Tudors and Stuarts: Henry VIII and the Reformation, Elizabeth I and the Armada, Shakespeare, the Civil War, the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution
- Great Britain and the Empire: the Act of Union, the first Prime Minister, the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, the end of the slave trade, Trafalgar and Waterloo, and the Victorians
- The 20th century and after: the two world wars, Churchill, the welfare state and the NHS, British inventions, and devolution
Sit 24 questions under the 45-minute clock
24 questions from all five chapters in 45 minutes, with your score for history so you know where you stand.
Free history drillHow to revise it
- Make one timeline of dates and drill it: 1066, 1215, 1348, 1485, 1588, 1642, 1649, 1660, 1688, 1707, 1801, 1807, 1833, 1918, 1928, 1948 and the others in the explanations.
- Learn people in pairs with what they did: Wilberforce and the slave trade, Brunel and the railway, Fleming and penicillin.
- Revise Henry VIII’s six wives in order; questions ask about each one.
- After each drill, read the explanation for every option. The wrong options are other facts from the same chapter, so you learn several facts per question.
Common questions
Do I need to learn all the dates in the history chapter?
Many history questions ask for a year or put events in order, so the main dates matter. Start with the dates that mark a change of ruler or system (1066, 1215, 1485, 1649, 1660, 1688, 1707, 1801) and build from there.
Why does history have the most questions?
It is the longest chapter of the handbook. The Home Office does not publish a count per chapter, but history is the largest part of our bank and nine of the 24 questions on our mock test.
24 questions from all five chapters in 45 minutes, with your score for history so you know where you stand.
Free history drillThe other handbook chapters
Sources
- GOV.UK: Life in the UK Test (24 questions, £50, booking, ID, exemptions)
- GOV.UK: What happens at the test (45 minutes, 75% pass mark, if you fail)
- GOV.UK: Prepare for the test (only tested on the official handbook)
- Official Life in the UK study materials (handbook, study guide, practice questions, e-learning)
Original practice questions written from the content of the official handbook, Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents (3rd edition). They are not the official question bank. Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Home Office or UK Visas and Immigration.