Penguin Random House commissioned OnePoll to carry out market research aimed at identifying the history knowledge of children in the UK, and their general attitudes towards learning about history.
1,000, 4-minute online surveys were completed by children aged 6 to 14 (polled via their parents), with cross breaks for child’s age, gender, and region. Images were embedded within the survey to test respondents – with just half able to identify Elizabeth the 1st from a series of images.
The results were interesting, with three quarters saying they love learning about the past. Finding out about how people lived (43%), wars and battles (40%), and Kings and Queens (37%), are among the most interesting history topics according to participants. Despite this, 48% admit they find history books boring.
In terms of their history knowledge, 62% of children knew the Battle of Britain was a World War 2 battle, with others thinking it was a strongest man contest (13%), a football match (11%), or an album by the rock band Iron Maiden (2%). Half (50%) didn’t know the Battle of Britain took place In the 1940s, and over one third weren’t aware that World War 2 ended in 1945.
69% correctly identified Julius Caesar as a Roman general (although 6% thought he was a past winner of Eurovision!). Yet only 2 in 5 knew that Henry the 8th had six wives. Just 38% knew what century the Great Fire of London occurred in, and only 36% identified Alan Turing as a wartime codebreaker – with kids thinking he was a famous painter (10%), the inventor of the internet (10%), and even the author of the first dictionary (10%), among other things.
On completion of the project, OnePoll delivered data tables showing the top line data and cross breaks. Working alongside sister agency 72Point, the news story centred around the incomplete history knowledge of kids in the UK. 20 separate pieces of news coverage were achieved, including The Mirror and the Daily Express, with an estimated 421K coverage views.