Key Stage 4 citizenship · Governance and the wider world

GCSE citizenship: the UK’s relations with Europe

This topic looks at how the United Kingdom relates to the countries and organisations of Europe. Teenagers study the story from the UK joining the European Community in 1973 to leaving the European Union in 2020, what the EU does, and the other European bodies that matter. Just as importantly, they practise researching a disputed question, weighing evidence and building a balanced, persuasive argument that they can back up.

The UK and Europe, explained

The first thing pupils learn is that “Europe” does not mean one organisation. The European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member states, with its own institutions: the European Commission, which proposes laws; the European Parliament, whose members are directly elected; the Council of the EU, which represents national governments; and the Court of Justice. Its members share a single market, in which goods, services, money and people can generally move freely. The Council of Europe is a different body, set up in 1949, with more than forty member countries including the UK. It produced the European Convention on Human Rights and has nothing to do with whether a country is in the EU.

The timeline is a core part of the topic. The UK joined what was then called the European Economic Community on 1 January 1973. In 1975 a referendum asked voters whether to stay, and about two thirds said yes. The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union in the early 1990s; the UK took part but kept the pound and stayed outside the Schengen passport-free travel area. On 23 June 2016 a second referendum asked whether to remain or leave. Leave won with 51.9 per cent to 48.1 per cent on a turnout of about 72 per cent, with England and Wales voting to leave and Scotland and Northern Ireland voting to remain. The result was advisory; Parliament then passed the laws needed to leave.

The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, followed by a transition period that ended on 31 December 2020. Since then, trade and cooperation have been governed by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, a treaty agreed at the end of 2020, rather than by EU membership, and Northern Ireland has special arrangements because of its land border with Ireland. The UK is no longer part of the single market or the EU customs union, so it can make its own trade deals and set its own rules, while businesses that trade with EU countries now deal with more paperwork and checks than before. The EU is still one of the UK’s largest trading partners, and the two continue to work together on matters such as security, science and climate.

Citizenship does not ask pupils to decide who was right. Schools are expected to present opposing political views fairly, and the arguments are well known. People who backed leaving pointed to control over laws and borders, the ability to make independent trade deals, and the money paid into the EU budget. People who backed remaining pointed to easier trade with close neighbours, jobs, cooperation on crime and research, and the UK’s influence within the union. Pupils learn to describe each side in terms its own supporters would recognise, which is harder than it sounds.

The second half of the aim is about skills: using a range of research strategies, weighing evidence, making persuasive arguments and backing up conclusions. In practice that means comparing official statistics, independent research, government and campaign documents and news reports; asking who produced a source and why; separating fact from opinion; and noticing that a figure on its own proves little without a comparison. A good argument states a claim, supports it with evidence, explains the reasoning, considers a counter-argument and reaches a conclusion.

Words your child will hear

European Union (EU): A group of 27 European countries that share institutions, a single market and some common laws.
Single market: An area in which goods, services, money and people can move between member countries with few barriers, such as border checks on goods or different product rules.
Sovereignty: The authority of a state to make its own laws and decisions without outside control.
Referendum: A vote of the whole electorate on a single question, such as whether to leave the EU.
Tariff: A tax charged on goods when they cross a border.
Council of Europe: A separate organisation of over forty countries, founded in 1949, that protects human rights and democracy; it is not part of the EU.
Transition period: The time after the UK left the EU in January 2020, until the end of 2020, when most rules stayed the same while a deal was agreed.

What the National Curriculum says

The programme of study for Key Stage 4 says:

Pupils should be taught about local, regional and international governance and the United Kingdom’s relations with the rest of Europe, the Commonwealth, the United Nations and the wider world
Pupils should develop their skills to be able to use a range of research strategies, weigh up evidence, make persuasive arguments and substantiate their conclusions.

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Try it: weighing evidence on a big claim

A student must write a persuasive paragraph responding to the statement: “Leaving the European Union has been good for the UK.” How should they go about it?

Break the claim into parts that can be tested, such as trade, the economy, migration, making laws and relations with neighbours. Then ask what “good” means and who for. The answer may be different for a farmer, a student and a software company.
Gather sources of different kinds: official statistics, independent research organisations, government and EU documents, newspapers and campaign groups. For each one, note who wrote it, when, and what they wanted to achieve.
Separate fact from opinion. “The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020” is a fact. “The country is freer” is a judgement. Check what a statistic is being compared with, because a change over time does not prove what caused it.
Weigh the evidence. Prefer sources that are recent, direct and independent. Where reputable sources disagree, work out why: they may use different time periods, measure different things or make different assumptions.
Write in a clear order: claim, evidence, reasoning, a counter-argument, and a conclusion that goes no further than the evidence allows.

Model paragraph: “Whether leaving has been good depends on what is measured. On control over its own laws and trade policy, the UK has powers it did not have as a member, and supporters of leaving value this. On trade with its closest neighbours, businesses report extra paperwork and checks, which critics say add cost. Because many other things changed at the same time, including the pandemic, it is hard to say how much of any change was caused by leaving. A fair conclusion is that the effects are mixed and still being studied, and that independent evidence should count for more than campaign material.”

Common mistakes and how to help

Thinking Europe, the EU and the Council of Europe are all the same thing

The names sound alike, and news reports often use “Europe” as shorthand for the EU.

What helps: Draw a map with the 27 EU members shaded, then add the UK, Norway and Switzerland, which are in Europe but not in the EU. Explain that the human rights convention comes from the Council of Europe, so leaving the EU did not remove it.

Believing leaving the EU meant the UK stopped trading or cooperating with Europe

“Leaving” sounds final, and early coverage focused on the break rather than the new agreements.

What helps: Look at what a trade and cooperation agreement is and why neighbours still need one. Distinguish being outside the single market from having no relationship.

Believing the 2016 referendum result was a law or that every part of the UK voted the same way

“The people have spoken” suggests a binding decision, and a single national result hides local differences.

What helps: Check the result by nation: England and Wales voted to leave, Scotland and Northern Ireland to remain. The vote was advisory and Parliament had to pass the laws needed to leave.

Treating one statistic, or any source that quotes numbers, as proof

Figures look objective, so a persuasive number can end a discussion before the questions start.

What helps: Ask three questions of every figure: who produced it, what is it compared with, and what else changed at the same time? A claim backed by two independent sources beats one backed by a single dramatic number.

How to help at home

Argue the side you disagree with. Choose a question, such as whether the UK should trade more with Europe, and ask your teenager to make the strongest case for the view you hold, then swap. It trains the skill of describing an opinion fairly.
Compare two accounts of the same story. Read two news reports on the same event. Highlight facts in one colour and opinions or loaded words in another. Ask what each writer left out.
Look at the labels in the kitchen. Make a list of where the food and household goods in your home come from, and mark which countries are in the EU. It makes trade between the UK and Europe concrete.
Talk about travel. If your family has travelled to Europe before and after 2021, compare what changed, from passport checks to roaming charges. First-hand experience gives pupils a source to weigh against the official figures.
Check the dates together. Make a simple timeline from 1973 to 2020 on a sheet of paper and ask your teenager to explain each point. A secure timeline makes every later argument easier to write.