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Run a St George's Day quiz

Why do Scouts celebrate St George’s Day? Find out with a fun quiz.

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You’ll need

  • A4 paper
  • Pens or pencils
St Georges Day Quiz
PDF – 105.3KB
Download St Georges Day Quiz

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough helpers, you may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short.

23 April is St George’s Day. St George is the patron Saint of England, who legend tells us slayed a dragon in ancient times, and lots of people choose to celebrate it with parades, dancing and other activities. St George was also chosen as the patron saint of Scouts. For Scouts, it’s a very special day when everyone can come together, make or renew their Promise and celebrate. Find out more about the Scout Promise and getting ready for St George’s Day.

 

How much do you know about St George’s Day?

  1. Explain to everyone that St George’s Day is on 23 April. Does anyone know why Scouts celebrate it?
  2. Tell people that it’s traditionally a time when many Scouts renew their Promise; lots of Scouts have a celebration event. This is all because Baden-Powell chose St George to be the patron saint of Scouts. Baden-Powell wanted St George’s Day to be a time to reflect on being a Scout and the Scout Promise and Law.

Run the quiz

  1. Tell everyone you're going to do a quiz to find out more about St George. People could play individually, in pairs or in small teams.
  2. Let everyone get into pairs or teams, if you're going to do so.
  3. Give out pens, pencils and papers for everyone to use.
  4. An adult volunteer or young leader should slowly read out the questions. Everyone should do their best at answering the quiz to explore who we think St George was and how St George’s Day is celebrated.
  5. Repeat any questions that people may need again.
  6. Now, swap sheets and read out the answers. Pause along the way to explore the answers. Did anyone find anything surprising? 

St George and our Scout values

  1. Remind everyone that Scouts make a promise to do their best, help others, and act with compassion. The Scout Law talks about having courage, and the version for Cubs talks about thinking of others before ourselves.
  2. Now, everyone should discuss why Baden-Powell chose St George as Scouts’ patron saint.
  3. Ask what characteristics or values does St George show and how do they fit with Scout values and the Promise and Scout Law (if your section has one). 
  4. People might suggest that St George has qualities, such as selflessness, courage, bravery, overcoming challenges or helping others.
  5. Robert Baden-Powell served with a cavalry (meaning they rode on horseback) regiment in the British Army. St George is the patron saint of all cavalry soldiers, whose role is often to look for the enemy.
  6. When Robert Baden-Powell set up Scouts, he thought that St George should be the patron saint of his new movement. What does everyone think of St George as the patron? Is anything surprising? How does this fit in with how we celebrate now?
  7. You could share any other ways that people could get involved in celebrating St George’s Day this year. If you’ve not decided yet, now is a great time to get everyone’s ideas.
  1. Where was St George born? (all versions)
    1. Wales
    2. England
    3. Turkey
    4. Spain

Although he’s also the patron saint of England (as well as Scouts), he may never have actually visited England! He’s thought to be from Cappadocia, an area which is now part of Turkey.

  1. What was St George’s job? (Beaver, Cubs/Scouts) / What do we think that St George did as a job? (Explorers)
    1. Soldier
    2. Sailor
    3. Tailor
    4. Author

We think he was a soldier in the Roman army.

  1. True or false – England is the only country that celebrates St George’s Day? (all versions)
    1. True
    2. False

We might think of St George as the patron saint of England, but St George’s Day is celebrated in a number of different countries: a number of different places have adopted St George as their patron saint.

  1. We celebrate St George’s Day in Scouts because… (all versions)
    1. St George was a Scout
    2. St George is the patron saint of Scouts
    3. Our Chief Scout liked the legend
    4. It’s when Baden-Powell was born

We think St George lived in the 3rd century and died at the start of the 4th century (in AD303). Baden-Powell didn’t start Scouts until the early 20th century (in 1908, to be precise). Baden-Powell chose St George as the patron saint of Scouts. 

  1. ‘Diada de Sant Jordi’ is St George’s Day in what language? (Cubs/Scouts, Explorers)
    1. Spanish
    2. Italian
    3. Polish
    4. Welsh
  1. Where do people think that St George lived? (Explorers)
    1. He moved to England
    2. He stayed in Turkey
    3. He moved to Palestine
    4. He moved to Spain
  1. On St George’s Day in Catalonia, in Spain, it’s traditional to share flowers and something else with your loved ones. What else do people share? (Cubs/Scouts, Explorers)
    1. Chocolates
    2. Books
    3. Cakes
    4. Tomatoes

In Catalonia in Spain, there are often festive markets selling flowers and books for St George’s Day. 23 April is also UNESCO's World Book Day, and we think it’s Shakespeare’s birthday (and the date he died).

  1. In the legend, St George saves a community by fighting and killing a… (all versions)
    1. Tiger
    2. Dragon
    3. Vampire
    4. Werewolf
  1. In the legend, what did St George use to kill the dragon? (all versions)
    1. A sword
    2. A breadstick
    3. A gun
    4. A large rock

Legend says that when St George travelled to Libya, he found a community which was being terrorised by a cruel dragon. He fought the dragon and killed it with a sword, freeing everyone.  

  1. In Bulgaria, what is it traditional to roast on St George’s Day? (Cubs/Scouts, Explorers)
    1. Turkey
    2. Marshmallows
    3. Lamb
    4. Beef

St George is a patron saint of shepherds, among other things. It’s actually celebrated on a different day in Bulgaria, on 6 May, and is known as Gergiovden. People may do some rituals focused on health of people, animals, and the fields. They may go for an early morning walk to enjoy the fresh dew.

  1. St George refused to follow a Roman emperor’s orders to… (Cubs/Scouts, Explorers)
    1. Leave the country
    2. Persecute Christians
    3. Steal from a church
    4. Burn down a village

He was captured and killed because of this, and for refusing to give up his Christian beliefs.   

  1. What happened when St George tore up the emperor’s orders? (Explorers)
    1. He was killed instantly
    2. He was imprisoned and tortured
    3. He was fired from the army
    4. He was forced to leave the country
  1. How is St George’s Day celebrated in Albania? (all versions)
    1. Having bonfires
    2. Acting out sword fights
    3. Having water fights
    4. Holding parades

It’s actually on 6 May in Albania. They celebrate by building and lighting fires as a sign of joy; they also bless things around them with water.

  1. What’s the name of the highest award you can get as a young person in Scouts? (all versions)
    1. Baden-Powell Award
    2. King’s Scout Award
    3. St George’s Award
    4. Queen’s Scout Award

You can start working towards this award when you turn 16, in Explorers. There’s usually an annual celebration at Windsor Castle, which you get invited to when you’ve completed your King’s Scout Award. The award changes name depending weather we have a king or a queen on the throne.

  1. True or false – the first national Scout parade and service at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle was in 1942? (Explorers)
    1. True
    2. False

It was on 22 April 1934. It couldn’t happen from 1940 to 1945 because of the second world war.

Reflection

The legend of St George is a story of the triumph of good over evil.  Can anyone think of any other occasions or festivals which celebrate this theme? One example is Diwali, often known as the festival of light.

You may not have saved your community from any dragons recently, but what other things have you done to help your community? If you’re looking for more ways to help your community, why not take a look at our Community Impact badges.

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Online safety

Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.

You could adapt this quiz, or create your own, to make it easier or harder. You can decide how much information you share, such as by making it multiple choice or not.

  • Remember to pause after each question to give people more time to read the questions and answers.
  • Make sure there’s a role for everyone. If anyone doesn’t want to do the quiz, they can take on another role, such as question-reader or scorer.
  • If someone needs support in writing down their ideas or drawing, give them the opportunity to work with someone else to help them where needed. A friend, adult volunteer or young leader could write for them. People may struggle to hold pens or pencils to write with. You could use pencil grips to help people who may need some support with this.
  • If needed, let people be in bigger groups to make sure everyone’s supported in taking part in the activity. A young leader could join a group to help people to take part, too.
  • For anyone who may not be able to hear the questions, consider printing them a version that they can read at the same time.
  • Make sure to print the questions large enough for everyone to be able to see them, too. If anyone’s colour-blind or dyslexic, you may need to use different colour paper to help make reading easier for them.
  • The quiz sitting or standing – whichever way works best for everyone. Some people may want to move round, doodle or use fidget toys while taking part and listening and that's OK.
  • Everyone should be able to choose which version of the Promise they make. They should also choose how they make it – they don’t need to remember it all, or even say it out loud. They could use sign language or Makaton, or answer questions to show that they’ll do their best and follow the Promise.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Beavers My World Challenge Award

Baden-Powell wanted St George’s Day to bring Scouts around the world together. Why not reach out to another group abroad? Find some tips on making these international links here. Do they celebrate St George’s Day where they live, or do they have a special day for another person in their history or legends?

If you’ve done this activity ahead of St George’s Day, this is a great chance to get everyone’s ideas on how to celebrate the day, whether it’s planning to come together virtually as a group or passing on ideas for a virtual event or project for your wider District, County, or Area to get involved in.