Do Brits take as many holidays as Boris?

Testing, testing

When were A levels first sat? They can be traced back to the Oxford Local, an external examination for schools instigated by Oxford University in 1858. Out of 401 candidates only 150 passed, with the Educational Times complaining that the questions were more searching than those on Oxford’s BA exam two decades earlier.

– The first standardised national exam designed to be taken at 18 was the Higher School Certificate introduced by the Board of Education in 1917. In order to pass, candidates had to satisfy the examiners in a minimum of five subjects. The certificate was replaced by A levels in 1951.

Bone-dry Britain

How unusual is the drought?

– This July was the driest month, averaged across England, since 1935, although parts of the south-east were the driest on record.

– From January to July, Reading University measured 216mm of rain, the third driest period since records began in 1908.