Some of the practices the school used to maintain positive behaviour might jar liberal sensibilities—incentives included cash handouts, and one student dispute was settled in the ring—but Ogg told me that these unorthodox methods were necessary: "I think it was essential that we had the freedom to innovate. People now recognise—even in government—that alternative provision schools need to be just that: alternative."

And the LBACP was a success. Its record at GCSE and BTec, although unimpressive by the standards of a mainstream school, meant that some of its graduates were able to enrol in college or find jobs. In 2009 the police told Ogg that the LBACP's students had much lower rates of offending than equivalent students who had been excluded. But more important are the unquantifiable benefits: the effect the selfless father-figure of Chris Hall had on his pupils; the moral code instilled in the students by their boxer pod leaders (all carefully chosen family men); the "spirit of cultivating positive, realistic dreams", as Ogg puts it.

Kemar signed up for extra English lessons with Ogg at the LBACP because, despite his excellent attendance, he was falling behind. When Ogg left, he and Robert Whelan from the think-tank Civitas (which supported the school financially) offered to give Kemar private tuition. Kemar would travel to Civitas's Westminster office for lessons. But his reading didn't improve. Civitas sent him to an assessor, who confirmed that he was severely dyslexic. Ogg continued to help Kemar practise his reading until, with the aid of Civitas's dyslexia fund, he could enrol in college. His only problem was that he couldn't escape his area or his old friends—and enemies. His inability to flee gang culture would prove fatal.

At Kemar's funeral Ogg gave the eulogy, calling his former student someone who loved to learn and who was "genuinely good".  Ogg had raised funds for the funeral because Kemar's family couldn't afford to pay for it. The LBACP and men like Ogg and Hall couldn't save Kemar, but they gave him hope and direction, as they have done with many others. Boxing Clever is a testament to their refusal to give up on young men like Kemar Duhaney.