def write_header(columns, title="Research Engineering Project Allocations"):
    """write the table header (title and column names)"""

    header = """<thead> <tr>
        <th></th>
        <th></th>
        <td class="title" colspan={n_columns}>{title}</td>
    </tr><tr>
        <th class="blank" ></th>
        <th class="blank" ></th>
    """.format(
        n_columns=len(columns), title=title
    )

    for colname in columns:
        header += """<th class="header" >{colname}</th>
        """.format(
            colname=colname
        )

    header += """</tr></thead>
    """

    return header