News Quiz - Week 42

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Introduction

Every week you will find a new exciting News Quiz from the LessonUp Team. This week: a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Mont Blanc shrinking, robotaxis in Manchester, F1 heading to Rwanda and Tinie Tempah's trip to Scunthorpe, plus an On This Day history challenge! This lesson was created with AI assistance.

News Quiz

School year 2026-2027

Week 42

THIS WEEK . . .

Northern lights!

Front page: the northern lights lit up skies across the UK on 9 and 10 October, seen as far south as Devon, Hampshire and Kent (BBC News, 10 October 2026). Image credit: Vincent Guth / Unsplash

Which party won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election?

Question 1

A

Labour

B

Green Party

C

Reform UK

D

Liberal Democrats

Answer: A. BBC News, 9 October 2026 - Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali won the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, becoming the first British Somali woman to be an MP. Image credit: Steve Houghton-Burnett / Unsplash

Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize. Which country is she from?

Question 2

A

Kenya

B

South Africa

C

Nigeria

D

Brazil

Answer: B. BBC News, 9 October 2026 - South African judge Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief, won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting peace and international law. Image credit: Sasun Bughdaryan / Unsplash

How much height did Mont Blanc lose in a year?

Question 3

A

About 1 cm

B

About 10 cm

C

More than 1 metre

D

About 10 metres

Answer: C. The Guardian, 14 October 2026 - Surveyors found the summit of Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest mountain, is now 4,807.47 metres high, 1.29 metres lower than in 2025, as changing weather alters the snow and ice on top. Image credit: c gom / Unsplash

Which city is hosting Uber's self-driving robotaxi trial?

Question 4

A

Birmingham

B

Leeds

C

Bristol

D

Manchester

Answer: D. The Guardian, 14 October 2026 - Uber began a trial of self-driving cars on the streets of Manchester, a first step towards bringing robotaxis to cities around the UK. Image credit: clement proust / Unsplash

Which country will host F1's first race in Africa since 1993?

Question 5

A

South Africa

B

Morocco

C

Rwanda

D

Kenya

Answer: C. BBC Sport, 13 October 2026 - Rwanda signed a 10-year deal to host an African Grand Prix on a new circuit near Kigali from the early 2030s, F1's first race in Africa since 1993. Image credit: Isaac Maffeis / Unsplash

Which streaming service revealed the first Narnia trailer?

Question 6

A

Disney+

B

Netflix

C

Prime Video

D

Apple TV+

Answer: B. The Guardian, 13 October 2026 - Netflix revealed the first trailer for Greta Gerwig's Narnia: The Magician's Nephew, based on CS Lewis's book and starring Daniel Craig, Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep. Image credit: Pau Casals / Unsplash

Which animal is in this year's winning Wildlife Photographer of the Year image?

Question 7

A

Polar bear

B

Gorilla

C

Snow leopard

D

Elephant

Answer: D. BBC News, 13 October 2026 - Italian photographer Federico Veronesi won Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 with a photo from Namibia of a female elephant carrying a dead calf. Teacher note: the winning image is emotional, so check before showing it to the class. Image credit: Diana Parkhouse / Unsplash

Tinie Tempah has promised to finally visit which town?

Question 8

A

Southampton

B

Scunthorpe

C

Grimsby

D

Doncaster

Answer: B. [QUIRKY] BBC News, 13 October 2026 - After a fan campaign, rapper Tinie Tempah confirmed he will finally visit Scunthorpe, 16 years after his number one hit Pass Out included the line that he had never been there. (Southampton is the town he says he HAS been to.) Image credit: Oscar Keys / Unsplash

Enter your question here

1. Hurricane Isaias made landfall in the US state of Florida.

2. Hackers made supermarket fridges in France heat up to 50C.

3. Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time.

4. A basketball shirt worn by Michael Jordan sold for a record $14m.

5. The Dutch city of Rotterdam prints poems on its bin lorries.

Florida

France

Singapore

Michael Jordan

Rotterdam

Texas

Spain

Monaco

LeBron James

Amsterdam

Question 9

Fill in the missing words:

BBC News, 10 October 2026 - Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, made landfall on Florida's northern Gulf Coast, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power.

BBC News, 12 October 2026 - A cyber attack on fridge software made fridges and freezers in about 400 French supermarkets heat up, some to 50C, spoiling food worth millions of euros.

BBC Sport, 11 October 2026 - Max Verstappen won the Singapore Grand Prix for the first time, leading from start to finish for Red Bull.

BBC Sport, 12 October 2026 - Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls jersey from his 1998 'Last Dance' season sold for $14m (£10.6m), a record for basketball memorabilia.

[QUIRKY] The Guardian, 15 October 2026 - Rotterdam's tradition of printing poetry on its bin lorries, started in 1988, was recognised as Dutch intangible cultural heritage.

1

A person goes up in a hot air balloon for the first time.

2

Columbus's first expedition lands in the Americas.

3

Eliud Kipchoge runs a marathon in under two hours.

4

A pilot breaks the sound barrier in level flight.

5

The Battle of Hastings begins the Norman conquest of England.

Question 10

This week in history...Put these historical events that happened in the same week in order from earliest to most recent!

Correct order: 1066 Battle of Hastings, 1492 Columbus reaches the Americas, 1783 first human hot air balloon ascent, 1947 Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier, 2019 Eliud Kipchoge's sub-two-hour marathon. Source: Wikipedia On This Day (14 Oct, 12 Oct, 15 Oct, 14 Oct, 12 Oct). The next slide has the answers.

1: 1066 (14 October) - The Battle of Hastings.

2: 1492 (12 October) - Columbus reaches the Americas.

3: 1783 (15 October) - First hot air balloon ascent.

4: 1947 (14 October) - Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier.

5: 2019 (12 October) - Kipchoge's sub-two-hour marathon.

A new News Quiz every week

NEXT WEEK . . .

What will happen next week?