What does it mean to be a capital city? - Presentation

A capital city, commonly referred to as 'the capital', is the primary city in a country where the government operates. It is the location of significant national institutions such as the parliament or the highest court of justice, and where key leaders and officials conduct their work. These cities are often large and hold a distinct importance within their nation. The presentation aims to help pupils understand the concept of a capital city and discover various facts about them, including their geographical location on a European map. Additionally, the pupils will engage in an interactive activity to create 'Top Trump' cards based on information about different capital cities.

Capital cities are interesting for a variety of reasons. While they are usually among the larger cities in a country, they are not always the largest. Some countries have more than one capital, such as Bolivia with two and South Africa with three. There are unique cases like Monaco, the Vatican City, and Singapore, where the entire country operates as a single city-state and thus serves as its own capital. The Pacific island nation of Nauru notably does not have an official capital city. Historical shifts have also seen capitals change, as in Turkey's transition from Constantinople to Ankara, and some capitals, like Canberra in Australia, have been purpose-built for their role. The session progresses with a task to locate European capitals on a map and culminates in a creative challenge where pupils design a 'Top Trumps' card game, using various pieces of information such as population, the year the city became the capital, and other distinctive attributes to compare different capitals.