Introduction -- The policy context: educational standards and human capital -- Conceptualising high achievement: theoretical perspectives on social identity and achievement -- Enabling high achievement: the shared practices of high achieving pupils -- Boffins and geeks: the social consequences for young people constructed as too hardworking -- The challenge of balance: anxieties concerning the tension between high achievement and popularity -- High achieving and popular: the ideal neoliberal subject? -- The classroom practices adopted by pupils accomplishing popularity and high achievement -- Implications for schools.