How do you turn a one-year-old boy into the perfect English gentlemen?
For one anonymous north London family, the answer involves trips to Lord’s Cricket Ground, the theatre, and rowing clubs along the Thames.
To that end, they are offering a £180,000 salary to an “exceptional and experienced” tutor who speaks with a received pronunciation accent, attended one of the UK’s best schools and understands the needs of children from ultra-high-net-worth and royal families.
A job advert posted online by Tutors International says the family – who are not British – hope that their son will be accepted at a “top-flight” school such as Eton, St Paul’s, Westminster, or Harrow.
They are so private that Adam Caller, the founder of the educational firm, was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement just to be told their surname, The Times reported.
The parents are seeking a teacher who can harness their child’s “innate curiosity and capacity for absorption” to immerse him in “British culture, values, and subtleties” and guide him towards a life of “dual-culturalism” before the family’s foreign cultural norms take hold.
At five, they write, the boy’s older brother is already too old for such a goal to be achieved.
The advert claims of the one-year-old: “At this stage, the boy is too young to have developed any cultural bias, which makes it the perfect time to begin exposing him to the activities and knowledge which will set him on a course to dual-culturalism.”
Crucially, the successful applicant will be expected to prepare the one-year-old to attend one of Britain’s leading public schools.
This will involve exposing him to a “wide range of quintessentially British experiences to help hone his habits, outlooks, tastes and sporting preferences”.
The advert states: “There is no reason why the boy can’t visit Lord’s, Wimbledon and Twickenham, for example, and be taught age-appropriate understanding of cricket, tennis, rugby and other sports such as equestrianism (including polo) and rowing.
“The Thames has many rowing clubs which could be visited on a formal or informal basis, helping to build the boy’s awareness of these traditional sports and their place in society.
“The Tutor may also want to help the boy try some of these sports, perhaps attending pony club or junior tennis lessons when the time is right.”
The prospective tutor should also be ready to expose the child to classical music from Western composers and enhance his development with regular “musical activities”.
The advert says: “The Tutor should have reasonable music theory and be able to help the boy explore music and rhythm.
“As the years pass, the child should understand instruments and how different sounds are made, hopefully developing an interest in learning an instrument at an early age.”
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The tutor must be someone “very special” with several years of elite experience who was raised in a “socially appropriate background”.
They will likely have attended one of the best schools and universities in England themselves, and will combine “pedagogical expertise with the discretion and cultural sensitivity required for high-profile households”.
Experience working within private residences, embassies, or royal households to deliver “bespoke, holistic learning programmes” is also essential.
The right candidate will also be culturally astute, well-travelled and comfortable with security protocols, as well as in possession of “a natural understanding of the importance of confidentiality, flexibility, and professional boundaries in VIP households”.
“Known for their warm yet composed presence, the Tutor must be able to foster a nurturing, engaging environment where young children thrive – academically, emotionally, and socially,” the advert adds.
Finally, the tutor must also be healthy, fit and a non-smoker with a love for the outdoors.
In exchange for their six-figure salary, the person hired will initially work between 10am and 3pm until the boy ages – at which point they will be expected to help with “more complicated activities and longer excursions”.
They will be entitled to two consecutive days off each week and at least four weeks holiday every year.
The role is advertised as a 12-month contract initially, but could be extended for “many years”.
Despite the family’s high expectations, their son is said to be “a typical little boy for his age – into everything and already learning at an astonishing rate”.
It adds: “Like any 1-year-old, the child enjoys sensory play, music, and activities that involve imitating speech. He is already curious about his world and experimenting with proto-speech.”
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Mr Caller told The Daily Mail he had met the family before advertising the role
“I went to see them and asked them to explain their rationale, and it makes complete sense,” he said.
“They come from a region of the world where the normal style of behaviour is quite different from the UK.
“They’re trying to raise their child to be entirely bicultural – so indistinguishable from a child who would have been raised in the UK, by the nuances of their behaviour, eye contact, physical mannerisms, interests, understanding and so on.”
On Wednesday, Mr Caller told The Mail that he already had 61 applicants for the role. Many of those were “absolutely, completely outstanding”, he said.
