Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, home of the Wales Rugby Union team

In 1845, rugby union was created when the first rules were written by pupils at Rugby School, Warwickshire.[229] A former pupil of the school William Webb Ellis, is often fabled with the invention of running with the ball in hand in 1823.[230] The first rugby international took place on 27 March 1871, played between England and Scotland.[231] By 1881 both Ireland and Wales had teams, and in 1883 the first international competition the annual Home Nations Championship took place. In 1888, the Home Nations combined to form what is today called the British and Irish Lions, who now tour every four years to face a Southern Hemisphere team.[232] The major domestic club competitions are the Premiership in England and the Celtic League in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and (since 2010) Italy. In 1895, rugby League was created in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, as the result of a split with the other Rugby code.[233] The Super League is the sports top-level club competition in Britain. Since the 1920s, Henry Lyte's Christian hymn "Abide With Me" is sung prior to kick-off at every rugby league Challenge Cup final, and football's FA Cup Final.[233][234]

Centre Court at Wimbledon. First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world.[235]

The modern game of tennis originated in the UK in the 1870s,[236] and after its creation, tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population, before spreading around the world.[237] Major Walter Clopton Wingfield is credited as being a pioneer of the game.[238] The oldest tennis tournament in the world the Wimbledon championships, first occurred in 1877, and today the event takes place over two weeks in late June and early July.[235] The eight-time Slam winner and Britain's most successful player Fred Perry, is one of only seven men in history to have won all four Grand Slam events.[239] Originating in 17th and 18th-century England, the Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Horse racing was popular with the aristocrats and royalty of British society, earning it the title "Sport of Kings."[240] The National Hunt horse race the Grand National, is held annually at Aintree Racecourse in early April, and three-time winner Red Rum is the most successful racehorse in the events history.[241] Other famous sporting events in the UK include the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone, the London Marathon, and The Boat Race on the River Thames. In 2002 Channel 4 broadcast the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments, as voted for by the UK public.[242] A great number of major sports originated in the United Kingdom, including association football, golf, tennis, boxing, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, field hockey, snooker, billiards, squash, curling and badminton, all of which are popular in Britain. Another sport invented in the UK was baseball,[243][244] and its early form rounders is popular among children in Britain.[245] The Highland games are held throughout the year in Scotland as a way of celebrating Scottish and Celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands, with more than 60 games taking place across the country every year.[246]

[edit]Education

Main article: Education in the United Kingdom

See also: Universities in the United Kingdom

Each country of the United Kingdom has a separate education system. Power over education matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is devolved but education in England is dealt with by the UK government since there is no devolved administration for England.

[edit]England

Typical uniform of an English comprehensive school (Kennet School)

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 858