Alex Balcarres

You are a teacher at a community college in Fife, Scotland. You enjoy the challenges of teaching a diverse range of students ranging in age from 17 to 30, particularly because it feels like you are giving them a chance that society hasn't given them. Today you were summoned by the Dean to an emergency meeting to "deal with the Balcarres problem". You have been relieved of all other teaching responsibilities and put in charge of getting Alex through his assessments "by whatever means necessary". You have been given carte blanche to carry this out and a dedicated classroom, isolated from the rest of the college. It will not be easy. You have clashed with Alex in class before. He arrives at his first meeting without his shirt in defiance of college regulations.