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Want to become a British citizen? Better swot up on Monty Python Want to become a British citizen? Better swot up on Monty Python
(2 days later)
Foreigners who want to settle permanently in the UK will be quizzed on their knowledge of everything from life in the stone age to the engineering achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the writing of Robert Burns under a new test to be launched by the Home Office as part of government attempts to cut net migration. From highly trained heart surgeons to hard-working vegetable pickers, immigrants will be told today that they will only be considered for UK citizenship if they can correctly answer "Britishness" questions on a range of topics, from the principles of medieval land ownership to the invention of the hovercraft.
The new examination was announced today by the minister for migration, Mark Harper, who said it replaced one drawn up under the Labour government and removed "mundane information about water meters, how to find train timetables, and using the internet". The achievements of Monty Python, Rudyard Kipling and Andrew Lloyd Webber are all included in a new 180-page Home Office syllabus which asks potential citizens to learn about Britain's history, culture and values, from the stone age to the 2010 general election, before they take a new and more tough "Life in the UK" test as part of the government's intention to dramatically reduce net migration.
"Instead of telling people how to claim benefits it encourages participation in British life," he said. In what critics dismissed as the equivalent of an outdated public school entrance exam, a text book written by Home Office officials goes on sale on Monday with sections on the engineering achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Churchill's great speeches, Margaret Thatcher and the writing of Robert Burns.
Knowledge of British composers, writers and even Monty Python and the Two Ronnies, who reportedly appear on the new syllabus, will be tested when the new exam comes into effect in March. A score of 75% from 24 questions will be a pass and the test will only be open to people who speak English to a required standard (level 3 of the English for Speakers of Other Languages system). The syllabus was announced by the minister for migration, Mark Harper, who complained that Labour's version featured "mundane information about water meters, how to find train timetables, and using the internet", as well as details of the welfare system. The government says that residents would already be aware of that sort of information.
According to a sample provided by the government, the multiple choice questions include: "Which landmark is a prehistoric monument which still stands in the English county of Wiltshire? A: Stonehenge B: Hadrian's Wall C: Offa's Dyke D: Fountains Abbey"; "At her jubilee in 2012, how many years as queen did Queen Elizabeth II celebrate? A: 20 B: 40 C: 50 D: 60"; "From what age can you be asked to serve on a jury: A: 16 B: 18 C: 21 D: 25"; and "What is the title given to the person who chairs the debates in the House of Commons? A: The chairman B: The leader C: The Speaker of the House D: The prime minister". "The new book rightly focuses on values and principles at the heart of being British," Harper said. "Instead of telling people how to claim benefits it encourages participation in British life."
Questions under Labour's version of the test included: "Is the statement below true or false: adults who have been unemployed for six months are usually required to join New Deal if they wish to continue receiving benefit", "A quango is A: a government body B: a non-departmental public body C: an arm of the judiciary D: an educational establishment?" and "How might you stop young people playing tricks on you at Halloween? A: Call the police B: Give them some money C: Give them sweets or chocolate D: Hide from them." From March, applicants will be expected to score 75% or above in a 24-question multiple choice exam to secure a pass.
Applicants will be expected to study a new book called Life in the UK which goes on sale on Monday. Migrant groups attacked the new syllabus and test as "a lampoon of Britishness" that made citizenship harder to achieve but for the wrong reasons.
"In the past, historical information was included in the book but was not tested, meaning that migrants did not have to show they had an understanding of how modern Britain has evolved," the Home Office said in a statement. Don Flynn, director of the Migrants' Rights Network, said: "The test takes us a long way from the goal of supporting the integration of migrants. It is in danger of looking more like an entry examination for a public school which requires complete identification with elite views of British history and culture.
"The new book and test will focus on events and people who have contributed to making Britain great. This includes writers like William Shakespeare and Robert Burns, the great scientists Isaac Newton and Alexander Fleming, engineers and industrialists like Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Richard Arkwright and politicians including Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee." "The chapter which primes applicants' knowledge about history is permeated with the sort of Whig views of the world-civilising mission of the British realm which have encouraged generations of Etonians and Harrovians to play their role in the great imperial enterprise.
The history chapter moves from the stone age, through the Romans, Norman conquest, Magna Carta, the Reformation and break with Rome and beyond. It looks at the development of parliamentary democracy, achievements of the industrial revolution and the Victorians, right up to the present day. "The tone is set with the title of the chapter, A Long and Illustrious History, and the depiction of a scene from the Battle of Trafalgar on its front cover."
"The book also covers many aspects of British cultural and artistic heritage including the music of Purcell and the worldwide influence of modern British composers, from Benjamin Britten to the Beatles and Andrew Lloyd Webber," the Home Office said. "It features artistic achievements from medieval stained glass to David Hockney, our national love of gardening and garden design and work produced by influential architects including Christopher Wren and Norman Foster." The section on India and empire is likely to raise eyebrows among Indians and Pakistanis, who, along with Poles, are now the largest migrating populations entering the UK according to the 2011 census. There is a box on the poet Rudyard Kipling, an extract from his poem If, and a description of "for the most part, an orderly transition from empire to commonwealth, with countries being granted their independence".
There is no mention of the million or more people who died in communal and religious violence at Britain's withdrawal during the 1947 partition of India.
The Home Office defended its move saying that earlier British history tests meant migrants did not have to show understanding of how modern Britain evolved. "The new book and test will focus on events and people who have contributed to making Britain great," the ministry said.
Migrants will have to learn about Purcell, Benjamin Britten and the Beatles, and "artistic achievements, from medieval stained glass to David Hockney, our national love of gardening, and the work of influential architects".
The Home Office issued 10 sample questions on Sunday. These seemed to suggest the test could be quite easy. But the syllabus suggests otherwise.
The chapter on the Tudors and the Stuarts requires readers understand "how and why religion changed during this period; the importance of poetry and drama in the Elizabethan period; the involvement of Britain in Ireland; the development of parliament and the only period in history when England was a republic; why there was a restoration of the monarchy; how the Glorious Revolution happened."
In a section on 20th-century inventions examinees are asked to remember who invented the MRI scanner and the cash machine (Sir Peter Mansfield and James Goodfellow, respectively).
The textbook bears the hallmark of the campaign by the education secretary, Michael Gove, for a more traditional, linear approach to history teaching, and looks set to face criticism for possible bias.
In the Margaret Thatcher section there is no mention of the miners' strike. Instead the textbook simply reads: "Traditional industries, such as shipbuilding and coal mining, declined ... during her premiership, there were a number of important economic reforms within the UK".
Under the last Labour government "many industries and services were affected by strikes," and "people began to argue that the unions were too powerful and that their activities were harming the UK" .
With Iraq there is nothing on the controversy about the reliance on claims Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction as a justification for war that then led to public inquiries. Instead it says: "British armed forces have been engaged in the global fight against international terrorism and against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."
• This article was amended on Tuesday 29 January 2013 to update the story with the version that appeared in the Guardian newspaper.