Photo taken from http://www.iwallpapersfive.com/?attachment_id=16824
Photo taken from http://www.iwallpapersfive.com/?attachment_id=16824
Basic information
1.BASIC INFORMATION:
Greater London (see Figure 1 above), metropolitan county of southeastern England that is also generally known as London.
The administrative structure of Greater London includes 33 separate boroughs, 14 of which constitute Inner London and the others Outer London.
The Inner London boroughs are Camden, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, the City of Westminster, and the City of London.
The 19 boroughs of Outer London are Barking andDagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, and Waltham Forest.
The present metropolitan county of Greater London constitutes nearly all of the historic county of Middlesex (which comprises the bulk of Greater London north of the River Thames), parts of the historic counties of Kent, Essex, and Hertfordshire, and a large part of the historic county of Surrey.
The present-day City of London covers an area of 1.1 square miles (2.9 square km) at the heart of Greater London and is a centre of world finance. Greater London forms the core of a larger metropolitan area (with a proportionately larger population) that extends as far as 45 miles (70 km) from the centre. Area 607 square miles (1,572 square km). Pop. (1991) 6,679,699; (2001) 7,172,091; (2011) 8,173,941.
Taken from Britannica
CITY IN FIGURES:
Country: United Kingdom
Region: England
City: London
Coordinates: 51:30:00N 0:07:00W
Altitude: 14m / 49ft
Currency: British Pound (GBP)
Language: English
Time Zone: Greenwich Meridian Time (GMT)
It is the biggest city in Britain and in EuropeIt occupies over 620 square miles
It has a population of 7,560,000 appx (2009)
About 12 per cent of Britain’s overall population live in here.
City has the highest population density in Britain, with 4,699 people per square kilometre.
The tallest building in city is the Canary Wharf Tower.
It was the first city in the world to have an underground railway, known as the 'Tube'.
Some of the most important people from countries all over the world visit the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
There are over 100 theatres in city, including 50 in the West End.
Source: Travel Pluto
2. THE AREA OF GREATER LONDON:
Greater London and the London boroughs
Greater London was established in 1965 as an administrative unit covering the London metropolis. It was not defined as a county but had a two-tier structure, with the lower tier being the London boroughs.
Following the abolition of the Greater London Council (GLC) in 1986 the London boroughs became single-tier authorities, but Greater London was still widely recognised, especially for statistical and mapping purposes. In 2000 however a two-tier structure was re-established when the new Greater London Authority adopted responsibility for a range of citywide policy areas.
There are 32 actual London boroughs, with a status similar to metropolitan districts, and also the City of London, which is a City Corporation and has a number of additional roles. London boroughs are subdivided into electoral wards.
You can find a full listing of London borough names and codes on the Open Geography portal. The names and codes are in the UK local authority districts downloadable file. Within this file the London boroughs have codes beginning with E09. For more information on the coding, please refer to the Code History Database (CHD).
SOURCE: LINK
3. GEOGRAPHY
London, city, capital of the United Kingdom. It is among the oldest of the world’s great cities—its history spanning nearly two millennia—and one of the most cosmopolitan. By far Britain’s largest metropolis, it is also the country’s economic, transportation, and cultural centre.
London is situated in southeastern England, lying astride the River Thames some 50 miles (80 km) upstream from its estuary on the North Sea. In satellite photographs the metropolis can be seen to sit compactly in a Green Belt of open land, with its principal ring highway (the M25 motorway) threaded around it at a radius of about 20 miles (30 km) from the city centre.
The growth of the built-up area was halted by strict town planning controls in the mid-1950s. Its physical limits more or less correspond to the administrative and statistical boundaries separating the metropolitan county of Greater London from the “home counties” of Kent, Surrey, and Berkshire (in clockwise order) to the south of the river and Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex to the north. The historic counties of Kent, Hertfordshire, and Essex extend in area beyond the current administrative counties with the same names to include substantial parts of the metropolitan county of Greater London, which was formed in 1965. Most of Greater London south of the Thames belongs to the historic county of Surrey, while most of Greater London north of the Thames belongs historically to the county of Middlesex.
Figure 1. Map of Greater London. Source: http://www.smilingglobe.com/visit.aspx City=DORKING&Go=
Greater_London&Visit=United_Kingdom
4. EDUCATION IN LONDON
The English education system has an excellent reputation with students from the UK and around the world attending school here. The system is overseen by the Department for Education and the Department for Business - Innovation and Skills. Local authorities (LAs) are responsible for implementing policy for public education and state schools at a regional level.
The British school system
Education is mandatory from ages 5 to 16 (to be raised to 18 in 2013 for 16-year-olds and 2015 for 17-year-olds). Students may then continue their secondary studies for two years (sixth form), with most students taking A-level qualifications. Other qualifications and courses include Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) qualifications, the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Cambridge Pre-U.
The 2 systems are the States schools and the independent schools (or Public schools). The State schools get State funds and are regulated by a Local Education Authority. Most of the State schools are either Comprehensive,Foundation or Grammar schools and Free Schools (set-up by local parents and run by organisations, like Foundation schools).
A Comprehensive school is a secondary school that does not select children on the basis of academic attainment or aptitude.
Grammar schools : selective school through the 11 plus exam (about 10% of "gifted" children pass the exam). The system is often blamed for elitism.
Independent schools or Public schools : private schools, charge fees.
A the end of the compulsory period at 16, all students pass the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exam. If it's successful it's then possible to attend a 2 year preparation in a College or a Sixth Form Centre (in State schools or Public schools) to pass the A-Levels. Pupils choose usually 3 subjects to pass for their exam and get a notation with the highest grade being A.
About 90% of the English pupils are in State schools. But be careful: they can be very good or a disaster! You better double check the quality of the schools you are about to choose. Performance of the school to the GCSE and A-levels exams for example may be helpful.
Stages of Education
The education system is divided into:
1. Nursery (ages 0–3) and Pre-school Nursery (ages 3–4
2. Primary education (ages 4–11)
3. Secondary education (ages 11–18)
4. Tertiary education (ages 18+)
SOURCE: LINK
5. HISTORY
Figure 2. London. Source: http://www.destination360.com/europe/uk/london/history
One of the revue songs is entitled “Why Can’t We Have the Sea in London?" The only thing that London (see Figure 2) lacks, it seems, is the access to the water. However, in a sense, once there was a sea in Greater London; it was fifty million years ago that London was covered with great water. The evidence of sea life can be found in various building, be it Customs House whose building material reflects the currents' direction in the past or the research made on clay that shows the process through which the London's soil went. In addition, one can notice the remains of sharks, oysters or crocodiles. Thus it is assumed that watery area prevailed to this day (Ackroyd, 2000). And hence, London was sea and still remains one, as the city of London is like an ocean, as expansive as the drink, said Dostoyevsky, can be (Yogerst, 1997). Moreover, as Ackroyd (2000) states, indeed, London is a metaphorical sea that contains ten thousands houses, where people meander along the streets like rivers; this city is like a raging water, restless and unpredictable; the streets' sound is like a whisper coming from sea shells. Moreover, the capital of Great Britain, for Percy Shelley, a British Romantic poet, in His letter to Maria Gisborne is a "great sea" that "still howls on for more."
And thus, if there is water, life begins. A city upon this rich area came into being. It had its ups and downs; there were times when prosperity flourished, yet clouds on the horizon also could be spotted. Now, it is time to get to know the history of London made by various civilizations, not based on speculations. Therefore, let us return to the old days of war, conquer and splendour. In this essay a history of London will be presented; the contribution of nations such as the Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Vikings, the Normans, the Tudors and the Stuarts will be described as well as the main events in the eighteenth-, nineteenth- and twentieth- century will be shown.
6. INDUSTRY
London is one of the world's foremost financial, commercial, industrial, and cultural centers. The Bank of England, Lloyd's, the stock exchange, and numerous other banks and investment companies have their headquarters there, primarily in the City, but increasingly at Canary Wharf. The financial services sector is a major source of overall employment in London.
London still remains one of the world's greatest ports. It exports manufactured goods and imports petroleum, tea, wool, raw sugar, timber, butter, metals, and meat. Consumer goods, clothing, precision instruments, jewelry, and stationery are produced, but manufacturing has lost a number of jobs in the once-dominant textile, furniture, printing, and chemical-processing industries as firms have moved outside the area. Engineering and scientific research are also important to the economy, as is tourism. The city is a hub for road, rail, and air (its airports include Heathrow and Gatwick), and it is now linked to the Continent by a high-speed rail line under the English Channel.
7. RELIGION
As you would imagine, London is also a very diverse city when it comes to religious belief. The latest data – from the 2001 census – recorded that 58.2% of Londoners considered themselves to be Christian, 8.5% considered that they were Muslim, 4.1% Hindu, 2.1% Jewish, 1.5% Sikh, 0.8% Buddhist and 0.2% other.
A large proportion – 15.8% – stated that they had no religion, and another 8.7% declined to answer the question on their religion.
SOURCE: LINK
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