News Quiz - Week 43

• New lesson editor
• Quiz
• News
• Lower Secondary (Key Stage 3)
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Introduction

Every week you will find a new exciting News Quiz from the LessonUp Team. This week: 'headphone dodgers', the Jackdaw gasfield, a mission to a moon of Mars, a flying car claim and a celebrity shark, plus an On This Day history challenge! This lesson was created with AI assistance.

News Quiz

School year 2026-2027

Week 43

THIS WEEK . . .

Storms ahead!!

Front page: Storm Austen, the first named storm of the UK's new season, was forecast to bring gusts of up to 80mph and heavy rain to Cornwall, Devon and the south coast from Thursday night (BBC News, 22 October 2026). The photo shows an earlier storm at Porthcawl lighthouse. Image credit: Marcus Woodbridge / Unsplash

Andy Burnham wants £100 fines for "headphone dodgers". What do they do?

Question 1

A

Play sound out loud on transport

B

Avoid paying fares

C

Cycle wearing headphones

D

Use phones while driving

Answer: A. The Guardian, 19 October 2026 - Prime Minister Andy Burnham launched a campaign against 'headphone dodgers' who play music or videos out loud on public transport, with guidance letting local transport authorities fine people up to £100. Image credit: Kevin Flores / Unsplash

The UK has just approved the Jackdaw gasfield. Where is it?

Question 2

A

Irish Sea

B

North Sea

C

English Channel

D

Celtic Sea

Answer: B. The Guardian, 21 October 2026 - The government approved the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea after lobbying by Shell. Climate campaigners and some Labour MPs criticised the decision; workers in Aberdeen welcomed it. A decision on the Rosebank oilfield is being made separately. Image credit: Julia Taubitz / Unsplash

Japan's new spacecraft will bring back samples from a moon of which planet?

Question 3

A

Jupiter

B

Saturn

C

Mars

D

Neptune

Answer: C. BBC News, 19 October 2026 - Japan's MMX spacecraft launched for Phobos, one of the two small moons of Mars. It is due to arrive in August 2027 and will try to bring moondust back to Earth, the first sample ever returned from Mars or its moons. Image credit: SpaceX / Unsplash

Which country's women's rugby team ended England's 41-match unbeaten run?

Question 4

A

New Zealand

B

France

C

USA

D

Canada

Answer: D. BBC Sport, 17 October 2026 - Canada beat England's Red Roses 24-21 in Toronto with a late try from Shoshanah Seumanutafa, ending England's 41-match unbeaten run, which went back almost four years. Image credit: Quino Al / Unsplash

Elon Musk claims Tesla's new Roadster can do what?

Question 5

A

Swim

B

Fly

C

Climb stairs

D

Charge in a minute

Answer: B. The Guardian, 16 October 2026 - Elon Musk showed off the Tesla Roadster 2, which he claims is the world's first flying car, at a SpaceX test site in Texas. In a video it used rocket thrusters to fly, flip and land; Musk said it was remotely controlled. Image credit: Sam Patel / Unsplash

Orangutans valued food more after hearing which sound?

Question 6

A

Music

B

Birdsong

C

Laughter

D

Rain

Answer: C. The Guardian, 21 October 2026 - In a study led by Indiana University, captive orangutans valued a treat more highly when they had heard their peers laughing before searching for it, suggesting emotions influence how apes learn. Image credit: Avigna Krish Dyala Kumar / Unsplash

Hastings residents struggled to get tickets to see which artwork?

Question 7

A

Bayeux Tapestry

B

Mona Lisa

C

The Scream

D

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Answer: A. BBC News, 21 October 2026 - People in and around Hastings, near the site of the Battle of Hastings, were promised early tickets to see the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum, but many said they could not get through. Their MP called the process 'shambolic'. Image credit: Elizabeth George / Unsplash

A celebrity shark swam straight back into a canal in which country?

Question 8

A

Japan

B

Australia

C

Italy

D

South Korea

Answer: D. [QUIRKY] BBC News, 22 October 2026 - Bukangi, a female dusky shark stuck in a canal in Busan, South Korea, for a month, swam back into the canal just a day after officials guided her out to sea. She has drawn more than 1.6 million visitors (Guardian). The photo is of a different canal. Image credit: Robin van der Wal / Unsplash

Enter your question here

1. A severe drought has been declared in six areas of England.

2. A Reform UK councillor quit after an undercover ITV News investigation filmed his racist remarks.

3. Storm Austen is the first named storm of the UK's new season.

4. Brazil has voted to cut its maximum working week to 40 hours.

5. A skeleton found in a Roman sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey is probably a medieval abbot.

drought

Reform UK

Austen

40

sarcophagus

flood

Labour

Ashley

35

sewer

Question 9

Fill in the missing words:

BBC News, 15 October 2026 - The Environment Agency declared severe drought in parts of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, East Sussex and West Sussex after months of low rainfall and the hottest summer on record.

BBC News, 16 October 2026 - Alan Feeney resigned as a councillor in Solihull and Birmingham and left Reform UK after an undercover ITV News investigation filmed him making racist remarks about Asian homeowners. He apologised. Reform says it has improved its vetting of candidates.

BBC News, 22 October 2026 - Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, was forecast to bring gusts of up to 80mph and heavy rain to Cornwall, Devon and the south coast.

The Guardian, 15 October 2026 - Brazil's congress approved a change to the constitution capping the working week at 40 hours and banning six-day weeks, which could affect up to 30 million workers.

[QUIRKY] The Guardian, 21 October 2026 - An archaeologist says the unknown skeleton inside a Roman sarcophagus dug up at Westminster Abbey in 1869 is probably an 11th-century abbot.

1

Nelson's fleet wins the Battle of Trafalgar.

2

Walt Disney signs the contract that starts his company.

3

Queen Elizabeth II opens the Sydney Opera House.

4

A tornado tears through London.

5

Liz Truss resigns as Prime Minister.

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: 1091 London tornado (17 Oct; Rowe, Journal of Meteorology, 1976), 1805 Battle of Trafalgar (21 Oct; Royal Museums Greenwich), 1923 Walt Disney signs the contract that starts the company (16 Oct; Walt Disney Archives), 1973 Sydney Opera House opened by Elizabeth II (20 Oct; National Museum of Australia), 2022 Liz Truss resigns (20 Oct; BBC News). The next slide has the answers.

1: 1091 (17 October) - A tornado hits London.

2: 1805 (21 October) - The Battle of Trafalgar.

3: 1923 (16 October) - The Disney company begins.

4: 1973 (20 October) - Sydney Opera House opens.

5: 2022 (20 October) - Liz Truss resigns as PM.

A new News Quiz every week

NEXT WEEK . . .

What will happen next week?