Flags, saints and symbols of the UK

The symbols of the four nations come up in the Life in the UK Test from every direction: the saint, the date, the country, the emblem, the flag. The customs-and-festivals quiz in this category covers the core set. This one goes a layer deeper, so that you can recognise each symbol from a description as well as from its name.

The first questions are about the flags. The cross of St George is a red upright cross on white, the cross of St Andrew a white diagonal cross on blue, and the cross of St Patrick a red diagonal cross on white. The three together make the Union Flag, which most people call the Union Jack. Wales is represented by a different flag altogether, the red dragon on white and green. A question on history explains why the flag looks as it does: the crosses of England and Scotland were first combined in 1606, and St Patrick's cross was added in 1801, when Ireland was united with Great Britain. Nothing changed in 1922.

The rest completes the sets the test likes to ask across: St Andrew's Day on 30 November, the only one of the four national days at the end of the year; the rose of England and the shamrock of Northern Ireland; which national days are public holidays — St Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland and St Andrew's Day in Scotland — while St George's Day is not one in England; the title of the national anthem, kept apart from the patriotic songs people confuse with it; and the lion and the unicorn on the royal coat of arms, for England and Scotland.

All twelve questions are multiple choice with one correct answer, one of them in the 'which of these statements is true?' form the real test also uses. Each explanation places the wrong options too, so a single question reviews the whole set of four. The material is a quiz only. It is not a mock test and does not predict a result. The questions and explanations are Zestly's own and no handbook text is reproduced.

• Describe the crosses of St George, St Andrew and St Patrick and recognise each from its colours
• Recognise the flag of Wales and explain why Wales is not on the Union Flag
• Say when and why the Union Flag took its present form
• Give the date of St Andrew's Day and say which national days are public holidays
• Name the emblems of England and Northern Ireland, the national anthem and the animals on the royal coat of arms

Practice material written by Zestly from publicly known facts about the flags and national symbols of the United Kingdom. No text is taken from the Life in the UK handbook.