I remember when I was a teacher that one of the motivational techniques the Jesuits employed was to cultivate a healthy rivalry. There were sports competitions between houses, coupons for good conduct which could earn you a house tea, and classes were divided into Romans and Carthaginians battling to termly victory or defeat. Come the athletics season and the notion of competing against yourself to achieve a personal best was stressed. One pupil even produced a history homework in which he imagined himself as a soldier in the Somme trenches which began: “07.00: Stood-to on sniper duty. Shot six Germans; a regimental record and a personal best.”