What can you expect from a school in an area of high crime where 50 percent of the pupils take free school meals and which operates on a site that cannot be accessed from its main catchment area? In this article, the author shares his experience when he visited Challenge College. A low wall separates Challenge College from the area where most of its pupils live. The Local Authority will not allow pupils to cross the wall; they have to take a mile-long detour along a busy main road. The "neighbouring" independent school has also refused access that would cut the journey. Why should the pupils bother to go? Well, they all appear to be devoted to the place. Expected graffiti seem to be absent. Litter is difficult to spot. The new building is rather nice, and the learning experiences that teachers arrange are so involving that it is difficult to get pupils out at breaktime. The style of teaching at Challenge College is the "Challenge". Pupils are challenged to co-operate in a group to produce an outcome (which is tightly specified) via a process (which is tightly specified and assessed) in a just-less-than-reasonable time-period. In each challenge, pupils were entirely clear about the "product standard" of what they were invited to create. They were clear about the "process standard" by which their group work would be judged. The audience for which they prepared was explained; the timescale was rigorous and just too short. Challenge College has trained staff to treat pupils differently. There is greater respect and greater expectation. The challenge permeates the whole curriculum. Pupils are engaged in learning, in inquiry, in group cooperation, in mutual support and encouragement. It beats cynicism.