Cryptic crossword clue
Contest what bad pupils are told to do? 4-2-4

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word HEAD-TO-HEAD

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
H
E
A
D
-
T
O
-
H
E
A
D

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Contest" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case contest = head-to-head.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does HEAD-TO-HEAD mean?

HEAD-TO-HEAD adjective
  1. Direct, one-to-one.
HEAD-TO-HEAD adverb
  1. Facing one another.
  2. Directly, one-to-one.

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