People of the UK: languages, accents and faiths

The UK is one state with several languages, many accents and a wide spread of beliefs, and the Life in the UK syllabus expects you to know the outline of all three. The customs-and-festivals quiz in this category already covers the two national churches and the general freedom of belief. This quiz covers what surrounds them, in twelve questions.

The language questions separate things people often run together. Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language, is spoken mainly in the Highlands and Islands. Scots, a close relative of English, is spoken in the Lowlands and is the language of much of Burns's poetry. In Northern Ireland some people speak Irish and others Ulster Scots; a law of 2022 gave Irish official recognition and set up a commissioner for Ulster Scots. Welsh, in Wales, is covered in the values category.

Three questions are about regional accents of English: Scouse in Liverpool, Geordie on Tyneside and Cockney in London's East End, with each one used as a distractor for the others. They are easy marks once learned, and they come up because they are part of how people in different parts of the country describe themselves.

The faith questions deliberately ask about order, not percentages. Figures differ between the handbook and the 2021 census, but the order does not: Christianity is the largest religion, Islam the second, and in England and Wales people with no religion are the second-largest group in census answers after Christians. The quiz also asks how Church of England bishops are appointed, by the monarch on the Prime Minister's advice, who leads the Church spiritually, what a gurdwara is, and which church has the most members in Northern Ireland, where no church is established.

Every explanation places the wrong options as well as the right one. The material is a quiz only and covers part of one chapter, not the whole syllabus. The questions and explanations are Zestly's own and no handbook text is reproduced.

• Tell Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Irish and Ulster Scots apart and say where each is spoken
• Link the Scouse, Geordie and Cockney accents to their places
• Rank the largest religious groups in the UK without depending on exact census figures
• Explain how Church of England bishops are appointed and who leads the Church spiritually
• Recognise a gurdwara and name the largest church in Northern Ireland

Practice material written by Zestly from publicly known facts about languages and religion in the UK, including the order of groups in the 2021 census of England and Wales. No text is taken from the Life in the UK handbook.