2012 looks like it's going to be quite a year in this country.

No matter what your interest, there should be something to really engage you.

The Olympic games and the European Football Championships provides mouthwatering opportunities for those sports fans out there and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee will provide us all with a great chance to unite Britain and uplift us in these difficult financial times.

But these are simply the headline events, supported by many more across the length and breadth of our country.

It is to be hoped that the Olympic Games does not prove to be simply another opportunity for us to wear out our armchairs and sofas, as we sit glued to the television for its duration. The Olympics provides us with a fantastic chance to get out there and be involved.

Many of us were unlucky in our attempts to obtain tickets for the prestigious events, but there are plenty of other ways we can actually engage, without relying just on the television.

The Olympic torch will be carried the length of the country on its way to the stadium in London.

A number of events take place in venues where it is possible to find your vantage point and watch as our sailors or marathon runners do their utmost to ensure medals remain in our country, once the Games are over.

As a school that continues to value the importance of sport, it is hardly surprising that Queen Elizabeth School and Sports College are planning to make the most of every opportunity we can to engage with the Olympics as they are staged here for probably the only time in our lifetimes.

As well as special Olympic-style events, we have organised trips to visit the Olympic Village and tour the Olympic stadium and we hope to be out in force to cheer on one of our ex-students as she proudly carries the Olympic torch through Warwickshire.

Needless to say, we are also weaving the Olympics into our curriculum wherever possible.

The county of Warwickshire is also fortunate to be hosting the Coventry Warwickshire and Solihull Level 3 School Games at the campus of the University of Warwick, where we expect to have in excess of 2,000 students competing in an Olympic-style event in early July. The event will showcase the very best sporting performances in our region as well as providing opportunities for young people to be involved in large opening and closing ceremonies, thus ensuring our budding broadcasters, journalists, analysts, statisticians, dancers and theatrical performers are all given an opportunity to showcase their talents.

The theme here then is clear. Let us try to engage and join in, whether it be the Olympics or the Jubilee, so that neither event is seen as an opportunity or excuse to switch on the telly, stock up on the crisps and fill the fridge with lager.

At Queen Elizabeth School and Sports College we will be doing all we can, as ever, to ensure we make the best of these fantastic opportunities.