And, given four options to choose from, only 20 per cent accurately supplied the correct answer to a question that asked how many years Queen Victoria reigned.The respondents' wider knowledge of history was not much better – one in three gave Henry VIII too many wives.Patriots will also be disappointed to hear that one in three questioned said that March 17, St Patrick's Day, was the day England celebrated the life of its patron saint, St George. Only four out of ten got the answer right.Christine Hodgson, the marketing manager of the Encyclopaedia Britannia – which launched the survey to mark the release of its 2002 edition – said: "Britain in particular is envied for its rich history. It's a great shame the young take it so much for granted."The poor overall performance from those questioned prompted criticism from education pressure groups.Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, a parents' pressure group calling for a return to traditional education standards, said: "This survey clearly shows schools aren't doing their job of teaching important aspects of British history."Only last year, because of changes to the national curriculum, the role of history in the curriculum for pupils aged 14 to 16 was downgraded.The changes meant that youngsters could opt to do a special short course in history instead of studying the full national curriculum.The course was designed to retain the interest of less academic pupils in education by allowing them to spend up to two days a week out of the school campus on work experience or at college.. Stephen Byers is likely to avoid having to co-operate with the Financial Services Authority's inquiry into the collapse of Railtrack because of a procedural technicality. Stephen Byers is likely to avoid having to co-operate with the Financial Services Authority's inquiry into the collapse of Railtrack because of a procedural technicality. This would allow the Secretary of State for Transport to prevent confidential minutes of his meetings with Railtrack executives being seen by the FSA or made public.Last night, Mr Byers' aides said he would co-operate with the inquiry but only if he first received a request from the FSA. It, though, is not expected to request any information from the minister because it does not have the power to investigate or prosecute government departments.A spokesman for the FSA said: "The first step we are taking is to obtain a chronology of events from Railtrack because it is a public listed company and that is where our powers lie.

We do not have any powers todemand the production of documents from government departments. Once we have assessed the material from Railtrack we will decide on the next steps."The FSA is understood to be unlikely to request documents from Mr Byers, even on a voluntary basis, because it acts only where it has the legal authority to demand compliance.Mr Byers rejected fresh calls for his resignation yesterday despite a claim from a senior colleague that there was a "gap" between his version of a crucial Railtrack meeting and that of the rail regulator. The Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, who chairs the Commons Select Committee on Transport, said lying to Parliament was "a short way to perdition" and Mr Byers would need to explain himself. If Mr Byers was found to have lied to the House, he would have to follow the example of the disgraced minister John Profumo in the 1960s.Mrs Dunwoody said the committee did not have enough evidence to prove Mr Byers had misled the Commons. But she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "You've got to be quite clear.

Anybody who deliberately misleads the House of Commons is putting themselves totally at risk. That's what happened to Profumo and it would happen again."Mr Byers said he looked forward to proving he had not misled MPs, and described the accusations as a "Conservative smokescreen". He said the Tories were attempting to draw attention away from the fact that Railtrack was a "failed Conservative privatisation".He added: "I see no reason at all for resigning. When people see the facts they will see I have not misled Parliament."Tom Winsor, the rail regulator, told the select committee on Wednesday that Mr Byershad warned he would be stripped of his regulatory powers if he attempted to give more financial assistance to Railtrack.