Guide contents
Booking and test day
  1. Test format
  2. Test fee
  3. Test ID
  4. Test validity
  5. Lost reference
Start learning
  1. First steps
  2. Settlement and citizenship
  3. Values and principles
  4. What is the UK?
History
  1. History overview
  2. Early Britain
  3. The Middle Ages
  4. Tudors and Stuarts
  5. A global power
  6. The 20th century
  7. Britain since 1945
Society
  1. Modern society
  2. The UK today
  3. Cities and currency
  4. Religion
  5. Customs
  6. Sport and culture
  7. Leisure
  8. Culture facts
Government and law
  1. Government overview
  2. Democracy
  3. Constitution
  4. Government
  5. International institutions
  6. Law and courts
  7. Rights and tax
  8. Community role

Study guide

British history: study timeline

In short

Study British history in order. First learn the big dates, then connect each person or event to the right period.

Test atoms

History is easier if you learn anchor atoms before the full story.

Date Atom
1066 Battle of Hastings / Norman Conquest / William the Conqueror
1215 Magna Carta limited royal power
1485 Bosworth Field started the Tudor period
1588 Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada
1689 Bill of Rights limited royal power
1707 Act of Union created Great Britain
1918 / 1928 partial women’s vote / equal voting rights
1948 NHS founded and Empire Windrush arrived

What not to over-learn first

  • Do not read history as one long drama. Learn anchor dates first.
  • The main thread is power: monarchs, Parliament, law, courts and voters.

Spot the correct statement

The real test often asks you to recognise a correct sentence, not write an answer from memory. You should be able to spot statements like these:

  • Magna Carta limited royal power in 1215.
  • Elizabeth I was queen when England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588.
  • The Bill of Rights limited the power of the monarch.

Main timeline

Period Main facts
Prehistory Stonehenge, Skara Brae, Bronze Age and Iron Age
AD 43 to AD 410 Roman Britain
1066 Norman Conquest
1215 to 1485 Magna Carta, Parliament, Black Death and Wars of the Roses
1509 to 1689 Tudors, Stuarts, Reformation, Civil War and Glorious Revolution
1707 to 1901 Union, empire, Industrial Revolution and voting reform
1914 onwards World wars, welfare state, migration, Europe and devolution

Read in this order

Read the history pages in this order:

  1. Early Britain
  2. The Middle Ages
  3. Tudors and Stuarts
  4. Britain as a global power
  5. The 20th century
  6. Britain since 1945

Start with the turning points: Romans, 1066, 1215, 1485, 1588, 1689, 1707, 1815, 1918, 1928, 1948 and 2016.

What to remember

  • The history chapter is organised into Early Britain, the Middle Ages, Tudors and Stuarts, global power, the 20th century and Britain since 1945.
  • The chapter moves broadly in chronological order from prehistory to recent political and social change.
  • Many questions give you a name, event or date. Place it in the right period.

Common traps

  • 1066 is the Norman Conquest, not Magna Carta.
  • 1215 is Magna Carta, not the Battle of Hastings.
  • 1918 and 1928 are both voting-rights dates, but they are not the same.
  • 1948 is linked to the NHS and post-war change.

Use history practice after each history page. The goal is to recognise the date, person or event quickly.

Quick check

Try from memory before opening the answer.

Which date is linked to the Norman Conquest?

1066.

Which date is linked to Magna Carta?

1215.

Which two dates are linked to voting rights for women?

1918 and 1928.