A cup of tea with a scone, jam and cream is a classic that Brits will never tire of – and something that visitors to Cornwall consider a must-do while on holiday.

And while the “jam or cream first” debate has gone on for decades, there’s another aspect to the tea-time treat that we are still very much divided on - and that’s how to pronounce the word ‘scone’.

With The Great British Bake Off well and truly underway, Sass and Belle decided to end the age-old debate once and for all, by asking 1,000 Brits how they pronounce the word ‘scone’ - either rhyming with ‘cone’ or ‘gone’.

The study revealed that there is a preferred way to pronounce this delicious baked good, with six in ten (60%) of Brits pronouncing ‘scone’ to rhyme with ‘cone’, compared to 40% who rhyme ‘scone’ with ‘gone’.

While the public have finally decided on the correct way to say it, there is bound to be some uproar about the word ‘scone’ as geography very clearly divides the nation and their preferred choice of pronunciation. 

Despite the fact that the north and south of the UK refuse to agree on a single pronunciation of ‘scone’, Devon and Cornwall - the origins of the British cream tea - have concluded that the long vowel pronunciation is in fact correct; so maybe it’s about time we listen to the experts?

The survey has mapped out where in the UK the two pronunciations of scone are used, and it’s clear that Scotland and in the very north and the south of England are in agreement with ‘scone’ to rhyme with ‘cone’, whereas Northern Ireland, the North East and North West are very set on the shortened version of ‘scone’.

And in true British fashion, the debate doesn’t end there when it comes to cream tea. The scone pronunciation is only the beginning, with the study also asking respondents to state whether they should put the jam or cream first on this afternoon tea favourite.

The jam-first versus cream-first debate was sparked from the different methods of serving the traditional cream tea in Devon and Cornwall respectively. 

However, times have moved on, and traditions may be slowly slipping away as the survey reveals that both Devon and Cornwall now unanimously put the jam on the scone FIRST - and almost two thirds (65%) of Brits do the same!