SOME Swindon teenagers don't know their Winston Churchills from their Oliver Cromwells, it would seem.

The Tories say many youngsters don't know enough about Britain's past and are calling for history lessons to be made compulsory up to the age of 16.

Recent surveys have revealed that nearly a third of 11 to 18-year-olds think Oliver Cromwell fought at the Battle of Hastings and less than half know that Lord Nelson's ship at Trafalgar was called HMS Victory.

The Adver put the knowledge of local students to the test.

We asked them some simple questions about the nation's past.

Crimean nurse Florence Nightingale was a painter according to one and Nelson's ship was the Mary Rose, according to another.

None of the six teenagers who took part in the quiz got more than four of the questions right.

And all except one admitted to finding the quiz difficult.

But Steve Flavin, headteacher of Churchfields School, believes that learning is history is not just about memorising facts.

"There's a very important side of history teaching which is about developing students' minds and teaching them how to be inquiring and how to investigate history," he said.

"It's more than just about learning facts.

"I think that history as a subject is a very key element of the National Curriculum.

"But what history should we study? There is such a diverse population and so many different aspects of history we could teach."

Shadow Education Secretary Tim Collins said pupils should all know about great British heroes such as Lord Nelson, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Sir Francis Drake.

He said: "Nothing is more important to the survival of the British nation than an understanding among its young of our shared heritage and the nature of the struggles, foreign and domestic, which have secured our freedoms.

"A nation which loses sight of its past cannot long expect to enjoy its future."

History quiz

Questions

1. What was Admiral Lord Nelson's famous ship called at Trafalgar?

2. What war is Oliver Cromwell famous for?

3. Which century did the First World War take place in?

4. How many wives did Henry VIII have?

5. Who was Florence Nightingale?

6. What job did Isambard Kingdom Brunel hold?

ANSWERS

1. HMS Victory.

2. English Civil War.

3. 20th.

4. Six.

5. A nurse in the Crimean War.

6. Engineer.

Diana Milne