The uk has been described as a "cultural superpower"

Main article: List of national symbols of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
The United Kingdom as a whole has a number of national symbols, as do its constituent nations. The Union Flag is the national flag of the United Kingdom. The first flag combined the cross of St George with the saltire of Saint Andrew to represent the Union of the Crowns in 1707. St Patrick's saltire was added when the Kingdom of Ireland was unified with Great Britain in 1801, and retained to represent Northern Ireland after partition in 1927.^[347] Wales has never been represented on the Union Flag, as in 1707 it was part of the Kingdom of England. Similarly, the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom only represents England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. England occupies the first and fourth quarters of the arms except in Scotland, when its arms take precedence. Britannia is the national personification of the UK, while John Bull is a personification used in satirical contexts, and the national animals are the lion and the bulldog.
The UK does not have a floral emblem, but each nation does. The Tudor rose represents England, a thistle Scotland, the flax flower and shamrock Northern Ireland, and the leek and daffodil Wales. The rose, shamrock and thistle are engrafted on the same stem on the coat of arms of the United Kingdom. Another major floral symbol is the remembrance poppy, which has been worn in Britain since 1921 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war. In the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday they are distributed by The Royal British Legion in return for donations to their "Poppy Appeal", which supports all current and former British military personnel.
Traditional communication and greeting cards[edit]

The red telephone box and Royal Mail red post box appear throughout the UK.
A familiar sight throughout the UK, the red telephone box and Royal Mail red post box are considered British cultural icons. Designed by Sir Giles Gilbert in 1924, the red telephone box features a prominent crown representing the British government. The post pillar box was introduced in the 1850s during the reign of Queen Victoria following Sir Rowland Hill's postal reforms in the 1830s where the reduction in postal rates with the invention of the postage stamp (Penny Black) made sending post an affordable means of personal communication.^[162] The red telephone box has appeared in British pop culture, such as in Adele's video "Hello", the front cover of One Direction's album Take Me Home, and the back cover of David Bowie's album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.^[348]
The world's first postcard was received by Theodore Hook from Fulham, London in 1840.^[349] The first pillar boxes had the distinctive Imperial cypher of Victoria Regina. Most pillar boxes produced after 1905 are made of cast iron and are cylindrical, and have served well throughout the reigns of George V, Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II.^[350]
The sending and receiving of greeting cards is an established tradition in the UK, with card sending or card display in the home being an important part of British culture.^[351]
Sir Henry Cole devised the concept of sending greetings cards at Christmas time.^[352] Designed by John Callcott Horsley for Cole in 1843, the Christmas card accounts for almost half of the volume of greeting card sales in the UK, with over 600 million cards sold annually.^[351] The robin is a common sight in gardens throughout the UK. It is relatively tame and drawn to human activities, and is frequently voted Britain's national bird in polls.^[353] The robin began featuring on many Christmas cards in the mid-19th century. The association with Christmas arises from postmen in Victorian Britain who wore red jackets and were nicknamed "Robins"; the robin featured on the Christmas card is an emblem of the postman delivering the card.^[354]
Sending Valentine's Day cards became hugely popular in Britain in the late 18th century, a practice which has since spread to other nations.^[355] The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.^[356] In Chaucer's Parlement of Foules (1382) he wrote; For this was on seynt Volantynys day. When euery bryd comets there to chese his make.^[356] The modern cliché Valentine's Day poem can be found in the 1784 English nursery rhyme Roses Are Red; "The rose is red, the violet's blue. 'The honey's sweet, and so are you. Thou art my love and I am thine. I drew thee to my Valentine."^[357]
In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man's Valentine Writer which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. In 1835, 60,000 Valentine cards were sent by post in the UK, despite postage being expensive.^[358] A reduction in postal rates (with the 1840 invention of the postage stamp, the Penny Black) increased the practice of mailing Valentines, with 400,000 sent in 1841.^[359] In the UK just under half the population spend money on gifts.^[360] Other popular occasions for sending greeting cards in the UK are birthdays, Mother's Day, Easter and Father's Day.^[352]
Education[edit]
Main article: Education in the United Kingdom
See also: Universities in the United Kingdom
Each country of the United Kingdom has a separate education system. Power over education matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is devolved but education in England is dealt with by the British government since there is no devolved administration for England.
England[edit]
Main article: Education in England

King Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom, and proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin.
Most schools came under state control in the Victorian era; a formal state school system was instituted after the Second World War. Initially, schools were categorised as infant schools, primary schools and secondary schools (split into more academic grammar schools and more vocational secondary modern schools). Under the Labour governments of the 1960s and 1970s most secondary modern and grammar schools were combined to become comprehensive schools. England has many independent (fee-paying) schools, some founded hundreds of years ago; independent secondary schools are known as public schools. Eton, Harrow, Shrewsbury and Rugby are four of the best-known. The nature and peculiarities of these Public schools have frequently featured in British literature. Prior to 1999,^[361] corporal punishment was allowed in such schools, whilst the use of corporal punishment was outlawed in state schools in 1987.^[362] Most primary and secondary schools in both the private and state sectors have compulsory school uniforms. Allowances are almost invariably made, however, to accommodate religious dress, including the Islamic hijab and Sikh bangle (kara).

The Oxford Union debate chamber. Called the "world's most prestigious debating society", the Oxford Union has hosted leaders and celebrities.^[363]
Although the Minister of Education is responsible to Parliament for education, the day-to-day administration and funding of state schools is the responsibility of local education authorities.
England's universities include some of the highest-ranked universities in the world: the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, the University of Oxford and University College London are all ranked in the global top 10 in the 2010 QS World University Rankings. The London School of Economics has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research.^[364] The London Business School is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2010 its MBA programme was ranked best in the world by the Financial Times.^[365] Academic degrees in England are usually split into classes: first class (I), upper second class (II:1), lower second class (II:2) and third (III), and unclassified (below third class).