More than half of young people fail Britishness test

Some of those surveyed thought Nelson’s Column, here undergoing restoration in 2006, was a Stone Age monument (Getty)

Nelson’s Column was put up in the Stone Age, National Insurance is used to pay for supermarket home deliveries and Hawaii belongs to the UK – at least, that’s what some British people thought while sitting the citizenship test taken by immigrants.

Research by YouGov found that more than half of 18 to 24-year-olds and more than a third of 25 to 39-year-olds failed the test of their Britishness.

Although they will not face exile as a result, the figures showed just how difficult it is to achieve the test’s 75 per cent pass mark.

However, the vast majority of those aged 60 and over – 92 per cent – passed, along with 78 per cent of 40 to 59-year-olds.

Five per cent of the British candidates thought Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave was a famous British author, two per cent thought Hawaii belonged to the UK, while one per cent thought National Insurance paid for home deliveries from supermarkets.

Nelson’s Column and Windsor Castle were both deemed to be Stone Age monuments by 1 per cent of the candidates.

Four per cent reckoned that the National Assembly in Wales was based in Newport, rather than Cardiff.

Most knew that Henry VIII is famous for having six wives, but some thought he was big in the horse racing world, while 5 per cent thought he had seven sons.

YouGov used a sample test from the latest official practise handbook.