We are approaching the last leg of our 18 month tour. The final stretch before another batch of JC kids take their final exam and, nothing personal, but we hope to never see them again... except perhaps as future colleagues or if they return with valuable tribute in gratitude to the ones who have set them on the path to their success. Right.

This is the last 100m sprint to the finish line, and the good news is that whether each student crosses the line in great vigour and strength, or limps across battered and bruised from falling face first into the mud once too often, everybody wins! And in this final stretch, we staff will be pushing, pressuring, cussing, cajoling, waving pom-poms, whatever -- anything to keep spirits and confidence up so that as many of our students as possible will find the courage to make this last effort to finish well.

The majority will, as they do every year. But this stage of preparation is also like the eve of a major battle. In the gathering gloom, faces aglow in the flickering campfire light, the Commander will "proclaim...

That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse;
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.

(Henry V, 4.3)

This too is the reality of the task we are all facing. There will be those who for one reason or another are still deficient in the training, the focus and the courage to do what's necessary to ensure victory, or even their own survival. They shouldn't be tested if they haven't earned the right to be tested.

These next few weeks will be crucial to all our JC2s. If you commit to the fight, then you bloody well FIGHT! Each subject you take is a front you must attack to your last breath, no giving up, no giving way. If you waver now, you might as well go home now. Choose.