Your children’s guide to understanding
life in the United Kingdom
Moving to a new country can
be scary but there are lots of
fun things to do in the United
Kingdom (UK) and the people
are very friendly and welcoming.
In this guide you will learn
about life in the UK, from
understanding what the favourite
sports are to recognising
members of the Royal Family.
Developed for NatWest Global Employee Banking in association with Ten
The United Kingdom is made up of four
countries: England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. Each has its own flag.
Great Britain is only England, Scotland and
Wales. The flag of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland looks
like this:
Scotland
Northern
Ireland
The terms ‘English’ and ‘British’ do not
mean the same thing. A ‘British’ person is
someone who is from England, Scotland,
Wales or Northern Ireland. ‘English’ refers
to people from England. People from
Scotland are called ‘Scots’, from Wales
‘Welsh’ and from Northern Ireland ‘Irish’.
Wales
England
School
Moving to a new school can be a daunting prospect, but you will be pleased to hear that the
children and teachers in the UK are very friendly and welcoming. Your classmates will be from
many different backgrounds and this diverse mix of people means making new friends will be
easy.
The school day tends to run from 9am to 3.30pm from Monday to Friday and in most schools
children have to wear a uniform.
There is a wide range of lessons available, from science to sport, and as well as these classes
there are lots of after-school clubs that you can join, ranging from music sessions to martial
arts. These are a great way to make new friends.
The school year runs from September to June or
July and there are six holidays throughout the
year, varying between one week and two weeks
long, with a summer holiday of up to 10 weeks.
Major holidays, festivals and celebrations
In this section we learn about some of the important festivals and celebrations
throughout the year, some of which mean you get a day off school! There are people
from all over the world living in the UK and festivals from many different cultures and
religions are also celebrated.
New Year’s Eve – 31 December
Valentine’s Day – 14 February
The end of the year and beginning
of the next is celebrated across the
UK with public and private parties.
There are large celebrations in
London, with a huge fireworks
display along the Thames, and
Edinburgh, which celebrates with
one of Europe’s largest street
parties, known as Hogmanay. The
day after, New Year’s Day, is a public
holiday.
Each year in Britain more than
£500 million is spent on cards,
flowers and chocolates in the runup to Valentine’s Day, when people
express their love for each other.
It’s tradition to sign the card with a
question mark, meaning that you’ll
have to do some detective work if
you receive a love letter!
Shrove Tuesday
Easter Sunday – March or April
Also known as Pancake Day,
this marks the beginning of
Lent, when Christians give up
something like chocolate or
sweets for 40 days to remember
Jesus’s time spent fasting in the
desert, as explained in the Bible.
It is traditional for people to eat
pancakes and some schools organise
a pancake race, where competitors
must run along while flipping a
pancake in a pan. It’s harder than it
sounds!
With public holidays on Good Friday
and Easter Monday, this means that
most adults have four days off to be
with family and friends and you get
two to four weeks off school. What’s
even better is that it’s traditional to
exchange chocolate Easter eggs and
small gifts. This is a holy festival and
Christians may attend church.
April Fool’s Day – 1 April
May Day – 1 May
Historians are unsure how this
mischievous tradition began, but this
is a day when people play practical
jokes and tricks on each other and
shout ‘April Fool’ when the prank
goes to plan. It is bad luck to do
a trick after midday, so make sure
you’re prepared.
Dating back to medieval times,
this festival welcomes the summer.
Traditional celebrations include
dancing around a maypole, when
young children hold colourful ribbons
attached to a tall pole and dance
around in a circle, weaving
in and out of each other
to make patterns.
Halloween – 31 October
Did you know?
This is a day when people in ancient
times thought that ghosts and
ghouls came back to life. Lots of
people have parties where children
dress up as witches, vampires,
ghosts and other scary creatures and
play spooky games.
There is only
a 34-kilometre
(21-mile) gap
between England
and France. The
countries are
connected by the
Channel Tunnel,
which opened in
1994.
Bonfire Night – 5 November
Christmas and Boxing Day –
25 and 26 December
More than 400 years ago a group
of men planned to blow up the
English parliament but got caught
just before they lit the fuse. It has
become known as the Gunpowder
Plot and today it is marked by
bonfires and fireworks displays
across England. If you go to an
event, make sure you try a toffee
apple, which is a whole apple on a
stick dipped in crunchy sugar.
People in the UK get very excited
about Christmas, not just because
it’s a time to give and receive
presents, but also because it’s a
time to see family and friends.
Villages, towns and cities are
decorated with lanterns, Christmas
trees and images of Santa Claus.
On Christmas Day it is traditional for
families to eat roast turkey followed
by Christmas pudding, which is
a domed-shaped fruit cake. Most
people eat until they are very full!
The day after is known as Boxing
Day because it is the day when
servants used to receive boxes of
money and presents from their
employers.
Sport
Sport is a big part of life for children and adults in the UK. No matter what sport you like to
play there will be a club at school or near your house that will welcome you on to their team.
There are four sports that are very popular in the UK, so read on to find out what these are.
Football
Rugby
Football (soccer) is the most popular
sport in the UK and you will hear
lots of people talking about it,
especially on Monday mornings after
the matches that took place at the
weekend. The professional games are
watched by millions of fans and teams
like Arsenal, Manchester United and
Liverpool play in a tournament called
the Premier League. Each of the four
countries in the UK has a national
team, with England being the most
successful; however, they have not
won a trophy since 1966’s World Cup.
When the summer comes to an end
it is time for the rugby season to
begin. Both girls and boys play this
at school and weekend clubs. It is
not as popular as football but there
are still lots of fans who support
their local teams. A major highlight
of every season is the Six Nations
tournament, when England, Wales,
Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy
battle for the title. There is lots of
rivalry between the UK teams so
these games are always very exciting.
Tennis
Cricket
You may have heard of the
Wimbledon Championships. It is
one of the most famous tennis
tournaments in the world and the
best players battle it out for the
chance to have their name engraved
on the trophy. In 2013, a player
called Andy Murray won the final and
became the first British male winner
since 1934.
Cricket is a popular summer sport
in England and in the evenings and
at weekends you will notice people
standing on sports pitches dressed all
in white. The rules can be confusing
and there are lots of words and
signals that seem to make no sense,
but if you learn how to play this will
all become clear. Essentially both
teams bowl and bat and need to score
as many ‘runs’ (points) as possible,
the winner being the team with the
highest score.
Entertainment
Music
The biggest pop stars and rock bands from the UK are
famous all over the world, so you will have heard lots of
music that your new friends at school listen to. Lots of
children listen to BBC Radio 1, which plays all the latest
songs from up-and-coming bands and singers. Every
Sunday evening the DJs count down the top 40 songs
in the UK. Heart FM is also a very popular radio station.
Books
The adventures of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and
Ron Weasley have been translated into 67 languages and
are popular with children all over the world. Many of the
places described in the books were inspired by landmarks
throughout the UK that you can visit and a new Harry
Potter studio tour has opened near London. There are
lots of other children’s books written by British authors
and these can be found in school and public libraries.
Film and television
There are five main television channels (stations) in the
UK along with many other free channels and there are
lots of cartoons and comedies shown throughout the day.
However, if you are a fan of Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network
or the Disney Channel, your parents will have to pay for
extra channels. There are cinemas in towns and cities,
which are a great place to go with your new friends.
Did you know?
Scotland is famous for its
freshwater lakes, known
as lochs. The most famous
one is Loch Ness, where a
mythical monster is said to
lurk in its depths.
The Royal Family
Britain has been ruled by a king or a queen for hundreds of years. While they do not have
as much power as they used to, the Royal Family still has an important role. The head of the
Royal Family is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who lives in castles and palaces across Great
Britain, moving household regularly. Her face is on all British money and stamps. Read on to
find out about important members of the Royal Family.
The Queen
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is officially the head of state in the UK
and has been the queen since 1952. She lives in Buckingham Palace
in London or Windsor Castle when she is working, with her husband
Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and her corgi dogs. She spends a lot
of her time on official visits to countries all over the world, as well
as schools, hospitals and workplaces in the UK. She is also the head
of the military and the Church of England. Every day she receives
important documents from the government that she must read and sign
and she hosts three garden parties at Buckingham Palace every year for
8,000 special guests.
Prince Charles
Also known as the Prince of Wales, he is next in line to the throne and
is the Queen’s son. He is married to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall,
and spends a lot of his time supporting charities and visiting world
leaders across the globe.
Prince William and Kate
Prince William, also known as the Duke of Cambridge, is the son of
Prince Charles. He recently got married to Kate Middleton in a largescale royal wedding and they now have a baby called George, who
will be a future king. They are regularly featured in magazines and
newspapers and are very popular among the British public. William is
second in line to the throne and spends a lot of time travelling around
the world visiting countries.
Prince Harry
Otherwise known as Prince Henry
of Wales, he is the youngest son of
Charles. As well as attending to royal
duties across the world, he is an
Officer in the army and is trained as a
helicopter commander. Harry is fourth
in line to be king.
Photos by Ibagli; Floyd Nello; Magnus D; Glyn Lowe
Fast facts
Currency: British Pounds (GBP – £)
Population: 62 million (2011 census)
Language: English, Welsh, Scottish, Irish and a wide range of languages from all across the
world
Major cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast
Religion: Many of the world’s religions are practised in the UK, including Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism
Weather: There are four season in the UK: spring, summer, autumn and winter. The weather
in spring and summer tends to be warm and dry, while in autumn and winter there is lots of
rain and it becomes cold.
Did you know?
As well as speaking English, people from
Wales speak Welsh. It is very different
to English and the longest word in the
Welsh language contains 51 letters,
making it one of the longest in the world.
Famous faces from history
Robin Hood
The legend of Robin Hood is a famous story of an outlaw who lived in
Sherwood Forest with his band of merry men. The tale began in the 12th
century during the rule of King Richard the Lionheart, whose brother
Prince John taxed the poor. Robin Hood, who ‘robbed from the rich and
gave to the poor’, became a symbol of hope among the population.
William Wallace
In the 13th century, Scotland was ruled by England and the two
countries fought many battles over who owned the Scottish territory. William Wallace was a strong leader who led an uprising in an
attempt to force the English out of Scotland. Today, he is heralded
as a national hero.
Henry VIII of England
Henry Tudor was born in 1491 and became
the king of England in 1509 until he died
in 1547. He is famous for having six wives.
He wanted a son to take over the throne
from him. However, when his wives did not
produce a boy, he either executed them or
divorced them!
William Shakespeare
Shakespeare is the most famous British
playwright and his plays are still watched
by millions of people across the world
today. He was born in 1564 and spent
much of his life in London. He wrote
his work in old Elizabethan English,
which can be very hard to understand!
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth was Queen of England, Ireland and Wales from 1558
to 1603. She gave her name to the ‘Elizabethan Age’. It was an
exciting time in English history, with lots of battles and British explorers discovering countries for the first time. She ruled
alone and did not marry.
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale went to the Crimean
War to look after wounded soldiers and she
saved a lot of lives. She was born in 1820
and was responsible for making hospitals
cleaner places and developing medical
care. She is the founder of modern nursing.
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill was Britain’s prime minister for most of World
War II. He is famous for his morale-boosting speeches and his
refusal to give in, even when things were going badly for the British army. He smoked big cigars and is known to have had a good
sense of humour.