Page last updated at 12:47 GMT, Wednesday, 8 July 2009 13:47 UK

7 questions on GCSE history

GCSE History Quiz

Exam season is coming to an end, but there's no egg and flour fights here on the Magazine, as our series of curriculum tests continues into the summer break. Questions are based on the GCSE syllabus and supplied by BBC Bitesize. This week it's history. You may turn over your papers now.

Winston Churchill

1.) GCSE History Quiz

What did the Children's Charter of 1908 introduce?

Children in 1909
  1. Children were allowed to buy cigarettes
  2. Borstals
  3. School medical inspections

2.) GCSE History Quiz

Which prime minister opposed women's suffrage before the war?

  1. Herbert Asquith
    Herbert Asquith
  2. David Lloyd George
    David Lloyd George
  3. Andrew Bonar Law
    Andrew Bonar Law

3.) GCSE History Quiz

Why was the Treaty of Westminster crucially important in the build-up to World War I?

Houses of Parliament
  1. Britain promised to defend Belgium
  2. Britain formed the Entente Cordiale with France
  3. Britain formed the Triple Entente with France and Russia

4.) GCSE History Quiz

Which of these countries had a 44-year-old score to settle with Germany in 1914?

The German Kaiser in 1914
  1. Belgium
  2. Britain
  3. France

5.) GCSE History Quiz

Germany's plan for war in 1914 was the Schlieffen Plan. Who was it named after?

Alfred von Schlieffen
  1. Army chief-of-staff
  2. Chancellor
  3. Heroic general from the past

6.) GCSE History Quiz

Whose murder saw the start of the purges of the Bolshevik party as Joseph Stalin's grip on power tightened?

Joseph Stalin
  1. Rykov
  2. Kirov
  3. Zinoviev

7.) GCSE History Quiz

How did student Jan Palach protest about the invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia?

Pictures of Jan Palach
  1. He held off Soviet soldiers with a machine gun
  2. He burned himself to death
  3. He stood in front of the Russian tanks


  1. Social reformers blamed poverty for causing crime among the young people, and sending young criminals to adult prisons was considered counter-productive, so juvenile courts and borstals were established. The sale of cigarettes and alcohol to children under 16 years of age was also outlawed, and working hours limited.
  2. Asquith became Liberal prime minister in 1908. His opposition to women's suffrage made him a target for campaigners who tried to disrupt meetings at which he was speaking.
  3. The Treaty of Westminster, also known as the Treaty of London, was signed on 19 April 1839 by leading European powers and the Netherlands. It guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium by protecting her if invaded. Gemany violated the treaty in 1914, and Britain felt honoured to respond.
  4. The 1870 Franco-Prussian war brought about the final unification of Germany under King Wilhelm I of Prussia. Napoleon III was defeated and Alsace-Lorraine annexed.
  5. Alfred von Schlieffen, above, was the German Army chief-of-staff. His plan plotted a victory on eastern and western fronts.
  6. The assassination of Bolshevik leader Sergey Kirov sparked the start of the repression, execution and disappearance of many in the party.
  7. He set himself on fire in Wenceslas Square in Prague in January 1969. His funeral became a protest and his coffin was followed by tens of thousands of people. A month later another student burned himself to death in the same spot.

Your Score

0 - 3 : Dark Ages

4 - 6 : Middle Ages

7 - 7 : Enlightenment

For a complete archive of past quizzes, including the Curriculum tests and our weekly news quiz 7 days 7 questions, visit the Magazine index and scroll down the page. Questions supplied by BBC Bitesize

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