The weather has been awful. I have some facts. The UK has experienced 40 consecutive days of rainfall instead of the usual 17–20 days. In Waterlooville, normal January rainfall is about 70–80mm. So far this year we have had between an estimated 140–160mm of rainfall. Which is between 40–60% above the normal for the time of year.

The reason given for such exceptional dreariness is due to a strong southerly jetstream bringing in repeated and relentless slow-moving rain fronts.

So that is the external forecast. Dull and wet! The internal forecast at Crookhorn has been anything but – which is brilliant!

In the last 6 weeks, we have run 9 different events or trips covering the spectrum of the curriculum.

At the start of January, we ran the Year 8 Girls into Engineering workshop. This was delivered in house and focussed on the girls rising to the challenge of building a bridge to span a 500mm ravine using limited construction materials with a follow-on task of building a balloon-powered car using Newtons principles of motion. The girls were fantastic and, as with all things at Crookhorn, it was naturally run as a House competition with Arundel coming away as having the top thinking engineering girls!

Just a couple of days later, we ran a catering masterclass with visiting master chef, Nadia Arab. During the day, students learnt how to be creative and practical using ingredients that were donated by Waitrose to create some awesome Indian and Pakistani dishes.

In the following week, Year 7 and 8 went off to explore more about the Islamic religion with a visit to a local mosque in Titchfield. The students were able to experience first-hand key aspects of Islamic worship and beliefs which, as one student later mentioned, added great depth to their understanding of this world religion.

As part of our Challenge Programme for our highest attainers, students in Year 9,10 and 11 were afforded the fantastic opportunity of hearing from a member of the Portsmouth Magistrates Court, to gain real insight into the justice system in this country in action. The students then had the opportunity for group work to tackle real-life cases, deciding on what they felt would be the appropriate sentence for each case, when context is considered.

Year 8 were then back out again at the National Motor Museum to take part in the National Faraday Challenge. The group who went were made up of our STEM ambassadors alongside other Year 8 students who have a strong passion for science, technology, engineering and maths. Students were given a real-world brief from Network Rail: to design and build a prototype that could help train stations cope with an increasing number of passengers. The key focus was on improving passenger experience while also making movement through the station as efficient as possible. Crookhorn students were divided into two teams, to compete against other schools and both did brilliantly, with Crookhorn Team A winning the whole competition. A big congratulations to all students who attended, but specifically to Sophia C, Amelia T, Hannah R, Lacey M, Monica G and Tanya M, who formed the winning team.

At the end of January, we had one of our big annual events – Dance Live! Over 60 students across the years took part either as performers or as technical crew. The theme of the Crookhorn entry this year was based around ‘Stranger Things’. The intricate choreography and striking visual effects, as well as the evident relentless hard work and commitment of the students secured our first ever win. Watching the video footage of the student’s reaction in their backstage area when the results were announced was just brilliant and reminds us all of what education can offer to children; fun, hard work, teamwork, and achievement. Just fabulous, and I wish them all the best in the next stage of the competition in April!

At the beginning of February, Year 8 and 9 students had the chance to go on a Maths World Trip. This involved a very full and fun-packed day in London visiting the Science Museum and Mathsworld! Activities ranged from codebreaking, to understanding the maths behind chess to constructing a dome using nothing but straight lines and squares. Who would have thought that maths could be quite so exciting!

This last weekend we hosted the Portsmouth Festival of Performing Arts and 17 of our students from Year 7 to 11 performed and competed against some other very talented young musicians from Portsmouth and the surrounding areas. Thanks to the strength of our music department here and the quality of extra-curricular on offer, our students came away with the following awards:

• Amelia and Mollie – Best Ensemble Skills and Best Vocalist 
• Harry F – Best Guitarist 
• Archie B – Best Drummer 
• Best Band – Archie, Rose, Rudy and Harry for their performance of Out of the Black by Royal Blood 
• Rudy T – Best Bassist 
• Alfie and Charlie – Best Ensemble Skills 
• Daisy – Best Vocalist 
• Alister – Best Drummer 
• Best Band – Alister, Daisy, Callum and Blake 
• Best Ensemble Skills – Crookhorn Rock Band 

I am so proud of all our students who took part and the staff who were there to support and advise the students throughout the day!

Finally, yesterday, 39 students from Year 7 and 8 went out on visit to Winchester Cathedral to learn about its history and religious importance dating back to the time of the Romans. Canon Justin, who welcomed and worked with the students, did a brilliant job of answering their wide-ranging questions about religion and faith as well as helping the students to understand how faith shapes his own life.

So, as you can see, nothing dull or dreary about life at Crookhorn despite the external weather, and we have more excitement unfolding every day, especially as Year 10 are currently out on their work experience and, from the reports coming in, are absolutely loving it and making the most of the opportunities being given to them. On Friday our ski trip departs, and I know that all the staff and students who are going are looking forward to an amazing week of sun (hopefully), snow and skiing!

For the rest of us… the daffodils are coming out now, as are the snowdrops. Winter is slowly beginning to relent, and the green shoots of spring are on the way! I have been told that this summer could be a good one – and, hopefully, we won’t have a hosepipe ban for a while!