ABSTRACT
The current debate over whether to participate in the European Monetary Union has revealed similar fault lines which have split the country and the main political parties. It seems that people are unwilling to contribute wholeheartedly to joint European ventures, but are sufficiently involved not to want to be left out. This ambivalence is reflected in the school curriculum. Britain became separated from the mainland of Europe about 8,500 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age. People's links with Europe have proliferated through trade, holidays and cultural and political intercourse. The concept of Europe dates back to the Greeks. The name itself comes from classical mythology. Europa, a beautiful princess was spotted by Zeus as she walked with her companions on the seashore. Originally, the Greeks assumed that Europe ended at the Caspian Sea a branch of the ocean that surrounded the world. In many ways Europe is best defined in political and cultural terms.
