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Life in the UK Practice Test 25 (2026) — free, with answers

24 original practice questions in the official Life in the UK Test formats — multiple choice, select TWO, TRUE or FALSE and “which statement is correct”. The real test has 24 questions in 45 minutes with a 75% pass mark (18 of 24). Every answer below includes an explanation. Written from the official study material; no log-in, completely free.

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1. Roughly when did the UK population reach 50 million?

  1. 1951
  2. 1901
  3. 1998
  4. 2010
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Answer: A — 1951

It reached 50 million in 1951, 57 million in 1998 and just over 62 million in 2010.

2. Which TWO factors are given for the UK's faster population growth in recent years?

  1. Migration into the UK
  2. Longer life expectancy
  3. A fall in emigration
  4. A rise in the birth rate alone
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Answer: A and B — Migration into the UK; Longer life expectancy

Migration into the UK and longer life expectancy have both played a part.

3. Approximately what share of the UK population lives in Scotland?

  1. Just over 8%
  2. About 5%
  3. Less than 3%
  4. About 84%
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Answer: A — Just over 8%

England is about 84%, Scotland just over 8%, Wales around 5% and Northern Ireland less than 3%.

4. Which age group in the UK is now at a record number, with an impact on pension and health-care costs?

  1. People aged 85 and over
  2. People under 16
  3. People aged 18 to 25
  4. People aged 65 to 70
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Answer: A — People aged 85 and over

People are living longer thanks to better living standards and health care, and there is now a record number of people aged 85 and over.

5. Under UK law, men and women must not be discriminated against on which TWO grounds?

  1. Their gender
  2. Whether or not they are married
  3. Their county of residence
  4. Their choice of employer
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Answer: A and B — Their gender; Whether or not they are married

It is a legal requirement that men and women are not discriminated against because of their gender, or because they are or are not married.

6. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? Women in Britain today make up about half of the workforce.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
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Answer: A — TRUE

Women make up about half the workforce; on average girls leave school with better qualifications than boys, and more women than men study at university.

7. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. Married parents are equally responsible for their children.
  2. The father alone is legally responsible for the children of a marriage.
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Answer: A — Married parents are equally responsible for their children.

Men and women have equal rights to work, own property, marry and divorce, and married parents are equally responsible for their children.

8. Broadly speaking, the Middle Ages are taken to run from the end of the Roman Empire in AD 476 until which year?

  1. 1485
  2. 1066
  3. 1215
  4. 1603
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Answer: A — 1485

The medieval period spans roughly a thousand years, from AD 476 to 1485.

9. Which TWO huge castles were built to maintain English power in Wales?

  1. Conwy
  2. Caernarvon
  3. Windsor
  4. Stirling
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Answer: A and B — Conwy; Caernarvon

Huge castles including Conwy and Caernarvon were built after the Statute of Rhuddlan annexed Wales to the Crown of England.

10. By roughly when had the last Welsh rebellions against English rule been defeated?

  1. The middle of the 15th century
  2. The middle of the 12th century
  3. The end of the 16th century
  4. The start of the 14th century
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Answer: A — The middle of the 15th century

By the middle of the 15th century the last Welsh rebellions had been defeated, and English laws and the English language were introduced.

11. Under the Norman system of feudalism, what did the king give his lords, and in return for what?

  1. Land, in return for help in war
  2. Money, in return for taxes
  3. Titles, in return for prayers
  4. Castles, in return for wool
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Answer: A — Land, in return for help in war

The king gave land to his lords in return for help in war, and landowners had to send certain numbers of men to serve in the army.

12. Which TWO statements describe the position of serfs in the Middle Ages?

  1. They had a small area of their lord's land on which to grow food
  2. They could not move away
  3. They owned their land outright
  4. They were paid wages by the king
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Answer: A and B — They had a small area of their lord's land on which to grow food; They could not move away

Some peasants had their own land, but most were serfs: they farmed a small area of their lord's land, had to work for him, and could not move away.

13. In the north of Scotland and in Ireland during the Middle Ages, who owned the land?

  1. Members of the 'clans', or prominent families
  2. The English Crown
  3. The Church alone
  4. Elected councils
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Answer: A — Members of the 'clans', or prominent families

Feudalism developed in southern Scotland, but in the north of Scotland and in Ireland land was owned by members of the clans.

14. In which year did the Black Death reach Britain?

  1. 1348
  2. 1215
  3. 1455
  4. 1066
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Answer: A — 1348

In 1348 a disease, probably a form of plague, came to Britain and killed about a third of the population of England.

15. Which TWO changes followed the Black Death in England?

  1. Labour shortages and peasants demanding higher wages
  2. The rise of new social classes, including the gentry
  3. A sharp increase in cereal growing
  4. The abolition of Parliament
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Answer: A and B — Labour shortages and peasants demanding higher wages; The rise of new social classes, including the gentry

The smaller population meant less need to grow cereal crops; there were labour shortages, peasants demanded higher wages, and new classes such as the gentry appeared as people moved to the towns.

16. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? In Ireland the Black Death killed many in the Pale, and for a time the area controlled by the English became smaller.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
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Answer: A — TRUE

The plague shrank the English-controlled Pale around Dublin for a time.

17. The origins of Parliament can be traced to what?

  1. The king's council of advisers
  2. The Magna Carta
  3. The Wars of the Roses
  4. The Domesday Book
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Answer: A — The king's council of advisers

Parliament's origins lie in the king's council of advisers, which included important noblemen and the leaders of the Church.

18. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. The Magna Carta established the idea that even the king was subject to the law.
  2. The Magna Carta confirmed that the king stood above the law.
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Answer: A — The Magna Carta established the idea that even the king was subject to the law.

It protected the rights of the nobility and restricted the king's power to collect taxes or to make and change laws.

19. Which TWO groups were elected to sit in the House of Commons in the Middle Ages?

  1. Knights, who were usually smaller landowners
  2. Wealthy people from towns and cities
  3. Bishops
  4. Great landowners
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Answer: A and B — Knights, who were usually smaller landowners; Wealthy people from towns and cities

The nobility, great landowners and bishops sat in the Lords; knights and wealthy townspeople were elected to the Commons. Only a small part of the population could vote.

20. The Scottish Parliament of the Middle Ages had three Houses. What were they called?

  1. Estates
  2. Chambers
  3. Councils
  4. Wards
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Answer: A — Estates

The Scottish Parliament had three Houses called Estates: the lords, the commons and the clergy.

21. How did judges in England develop 'common law' in the Middle Ages?

  1. By precedence — following previous decisions — and tradition
  2. By writing all laws down in a single code
  3. By royal decree alone
  4. By a vote of the House of Lords
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Answer: A — By precedence — following previous decisions — and tradition

English judges developed common law by precedence and tradition; in Scotland the laws were 'codified', or written down.

22. Which TWO modern English words come from Norman French?

  1. Park
  2. Beauty
  3. Apple
  4. Cow
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Answer: A and B — Park; Beauty

'Park' and 'beauty' come from Norman French; 'apple', 'cow' and 'summer' come from Anglo-Saxon.

23. In the pair 'demand' and 'ask', which word comes from Anglo-Saxon?

  1. Ask
  2. Demand
  3. Both
  4. Neither
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Answer: A — Ask

Modern English often has two words of similar meaning, one French and one Anglo-Saxon: 'demand' (French) and 'ask' (Anglo-Saxon).

24. By roughly which year were official documents in England being written in English?

  1. 1400
  2. 1215
  3. 1485
  4. 1066
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Answer: A — 1400

By 1400 official documents were written in English, and English had become the preferred language of the royal court and Parliament.

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