Citizenship test

Just been browsing and found this on the Mirror website. How ridiculous that someone can be allowed to take the test 64 times as he kept failing it and there is no limit on the times you can sit the test.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/british-citizenship-test-slammed-after-6000864

Some of the questions people can get: During halloween it is tradition to carve faces out of:

Melons, Pumpkins, Pineapples... it doesn't even mention turnips, which is what was traditionally used for the celebration that preceded Halloween, an American phenomenon.

Another howler: Traditionally the British eat roast turkey and christmas pudding for Christmas. No, the tradition was to have a roast dinner. Turkey for christmas dinner was imported from the US.

It is full of questions like these as well as really obscure references to 'landmarks' - where is Maiden castle? Not a clue mate and all the options you offer are southern counties that I've never been to.

The whole test is shambolic, test people on their ability to speak English, on their understanding of the most basic rules and explain to them how the education system works. No need for anything else.

Some of the questions people can get: During halloween it is tradition to carve faces out of:

 

Melons, Pumpkins, Pineapples... it doesn't even mention turnips, which is what was traditionally used for the celebration that preceded Halloween, an American phenomenon.

 

Another howler: Traditionally the British eat roast turkey and christmas pudding for Christmas. No, the tradition was to have a roast dinner. Turkey for christmas dinner was imported from the US.

 

It is full of questions like these as well as really obscure references to 'landmarks' - where is Maiden castle? Not a clue mate and all the options you offer are southern counties that I've never been to.

The whole test is shambolic, test people on their ability to speak English, on their understanding of the most basic rules and explain to them how the education system works. No need for anything else.

On this I agree, no need for a test at all, British citizenship could simply be given once someone as resided here for a set amount of years and made continuous posative contributions to the UK economy and society.

On this I agree, no need for a test at all, British citizenship could simply be given once someone as resided here for a set amount of years and made continuous posative contributions to the UK economy and society.

How can you define "citizenship" on that basis? Hundreds of thousands born here have never experienced employment..are you suggesting they should have their citizenship revoked?

How can you define "citizenship" on that basis? Hundreds of thousands born here have never experienced employment..are you suggesting they should have their citizenship revoked?

Born in the UK to citizens of the UK makes you a citizen of the UK.

Born in the UK to citizens of the UK makes you a citizen of the UK.

So having a job and contributing mirror images that?

Just been browsing and found this on the Mirror website. How ridiculous that someone can be allowed to take the test 64 times

Almost as ridiculous as being a British citizen with a traced 250 year British ancestry, married for 10 years to a trilingual wife with a guaranteed job offer on the table, two daughters (one British dual national) and I've been separated from my family by ridiculous UK government visa requirements for the last 18 months.

There are 14000 of us in the UK that would love for our spouses to be able to take even just a single test.

Some of the questions people can get: During halloween it is tradition to carve faces out of:

 

Melons, Pumpkins, Pineapples... it doesn't even mention turnips, which is what was traditionally used for the celebration that preceded Halloween, an American phenomenon.

 

Another howler: Traditionally the British eat roast turkey and christmas pudding for Christmas. No, the tradition was to have a roast dinner. Turkey for christmas dinner was imported from the US.

 

It is full of questions like these as well as really obscure references to 'landmarks' - where is Maiden castle? Not a clue mate and all the options you offer are southern counties that I've never been to.

 

The whole test is shambolic, test people on their ability to speak English, on their understanding of the most basic rules and explain to them how the education system works. No need for anything else.

exactly, its utter ********

How can you define "citizenship" on that basis? Hundreds of thousands born here have never experienced employment..are you suggesting they should have their citizenship revoked?

erm how do you revoke somebody whos born here???? and essentially british? Oo

erm how do you revoke somebody whos born here???? and essentially british? Oo

You don't, it was a sarcastic rebuttal.. But, how do you give citizenship to someone based on having a job when millions of indigenous don't and never have had a job..it resigns citizenship to a tiered structure. If you use "job" as a criteria for citizenship does that mean the indigenous unemployed citizen is somewhat less of a citizen because he's not an earner?

Using smiffy's analogy we could of course revoke citizenship and just regard them as "indigenous living here" and let them aspire to smiffy's "non indigenous citizen" criteria.

Non of it will ever happen of course because smiffy doesn't want any of those funny coloured people on our shores anyway, simply and ironically because it threatens his dole.