Education:
Depending on which end you live in the U.K., each different country that make up the United kingdom have their own education policy.
- Education in England is the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Education, Education is now mandatory from ages five to sixteen (15 if born in late July or August). The majority of children are educated in state-sector schools, only a small proportion of which select on the grounds of academic ability.
- Education in Scotland is the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, The proportion of children in Scotland attending private schools is just over 4%, although it has been rising slowly in recent years. Scottish students who attend Scottish universities pay neither tuition fees nor graduate endowment charges, as fees were abolished in 2001 and the graduate endowment scheme was abolished in 2008.
- Education in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Minister of Education and the Minister for Employment and Learning, although responsibility at a local level is administered by five education and library boards, covering different geographical areas.
- The Welsh Assembly Government has responsibility for education in Wales, lessons in Welsh are compulsory for all until the age of 16.
Food:
British cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Historically, British cuisine means "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavor, rather than disguise it."
However, British cuisine has absorbed the cultural influence of those that have settled in Britain, producing hybrid dishes, such as the Anglo-Indian chicken tikka masala, which the BBC has called "Britain's true national dish". British dishes include fish and chips, the Sunday roast, steak and kidney pie, and bangers and mash. British cuisine has several national and
regional varieties, including English, Scottish and Welsh cuisine, which each have developed their own regional or local dishes, many of which are geographically indicated foods such as Cheshire cheese, the Yorkshire pudding, Arbroath Smokie, and Welsh cakes.
Arts & Literature:
British literature' refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands as well as to literature from England, Wales and Scotland prior to the formation of the UK. Most British literature is in the English language. Britain publishes some 206,000 books each year, and in 2006 it was the largest publisher of books in the world.
The English playwright and poet William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest dramatist of all time, Scotland's contribution includes the detective writer Arthur Conan Doyle (the creator of Sherlock Holmes).
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| Charles Dickens |
Charles Dickens was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era, and he remains popular, responsible for some of English literature's most iconic characters. Unlike other authors who completed entire novels before serialization, Dickens often created the episodes as they were being serialized.His work has been praised for its realism, mastery of prose, and unique personalities by writers such as George Gissing, Leo Tolstoy and G. K.
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| Mr. and Mrs. Robert Andrews, Thomas Gainsborough, c. 1748-1750 |
It is part of Western art history, and during the 18th century began once again to take the leading place it had had in European art during the Middle Ages, being especially strong in portraiture and landscape art. The Victorian period saw a great diversity of art, and a far larger quantity created than before. Much Victorian art is now out of critical favor, with interest concentrated on the Pre-Raphaelites and the innovative movements at the end of the century.
Entertainment Industry:
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| The olympics |
- Sport is one main source of entertainment in the Great Britain. Major sports including association football, rugby league, rugby union, rowing, boxing, badminton, cricket, tennis and golf originated, or were substantially developed, in the United Kingdom and the states that preceded it. There are proposals to have a UK team take part in the 2012 Summer Olympics but the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish football associations have declined to participate, fearing that it would undermine their independent status — a fear confirmed by FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The game of lawn tennis first originated from the city of Birmingham between 1859 and 1865. The Championships, Wimbledon are international tennis events held in Wimbledon in south London every summer and are regarded as the most prestigious event of the global tennis calendar.
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| The Simpsons illustrated as the Beatles |
- Music an other is an other source of entertainment in the U.K. Various styles of music are popular in the UK, from the indigenous folk music of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, to heavy metal. The UK is also home to world-renowned symphonic orchestras and choruses such as the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Chorus. Prominent British contributors to have influenced popular music over the last 50 years include The Beatles, Queen, Cliff Richard, the Bee Gees, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones, all of whom have world wide record sales of 200 million or more. More recent UK music acts that have had international success include Coldplay, Radiohead, Oasis, Spice Girls, Amy Winehouse, Muse and Gorillaz.
Clothing:
British cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Historically, British cuisine means "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavor, rather than disguise it." However, British cuisine has absorbed the cultural influence of those that have settled in Britain, producing hybrid dishes, such as the Anglo-Indian chicken tikka masala, which the BBC has called "Britain's true national dish". British dishes include fish and chips, the Sunday roast, steak and kidney pie, and bangers and mash. British cuisine has several national and regional varieties, including English, Scottish and Welsh cuisine, which each have developed their own regional or local dishes, many of which are geographically indicated foods such as Cheshire cheese, the Yorkshire pudding, Arbroath Smokie, and Welsh cakes.
