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"Parents located in north London seeks an exceptional and skilled instructor to assist their youngest child on his initial journey to growing into an English gentleman."

When reading this post, you might naturally miss the term "initial stages" as just figurative language.

But, it may be the crucial part of this unique job advert, as it seeks to recruit a tutor for a one-year-old.

Hundreds of applications have since been received since the anonymous family advertised their call for the £180k-a-year tutor, who needs to be "an exceptional individual".

In recent few weeks, the post has attracted attention throughout the press, with several asking why?

Forward-Thinking Method

Adam Caller, CEO and founder of an education consultancy, which is helping the family in their hunt, said that despite initial doubt, he considered the plan "forward-looking", and "progressive".

When he met the family, he said they recognized the atypical character of their requirement, and how young their son is.

Nevertheless, they stated that they "were unwilling to delay any longer" to hire a tutor, as they had waited until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural bias had already set in".

What exactly did the family mean by "cultural predisposition"?

It's "everything", he responded. "The way you eat, the manner you speak".

He stated the elder child had absorbed "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had adopted their cultural habits. The family told the consultant they hoped to prevent the same situation to happen again with their new baby.

The intention: To engage a UK tutor, who must speak with RP, to influence the baby from day one.

Subtle Influence

"Much of the education at the beginning here is kind of osmotic," explained Adam.

It's by means of this osmosis that the family are aiming the child will adopt the UK customs they aim to instil.

He noted the tutor had to be someone who studied at "the appropriate educational institutions – the same kinds of schools as the family hope to send their son to".

"The instructor just has to be the right kind of person, they'll be doing things they may not realize they're doing, just naturally," he commented.

Expense Not a Factor

The family informed Adam the successful candidate should ideally also have understanding of or interest in riding, winter sports, artistic pursuits and music so as to influence the child in a wide range of hobbies.

Additionally though, he stated the family desired the tutor to sign up the child on a range of lessons so the child would be "pony-riding and learning an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".

In the family's view, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in achievement and create opportunities.

"Considering the rights and wrongs of that, because it's undoubtedly a status symbol," he adds.

However, in spite of all this guidance in "Britishness", might the child absorb what is termed cultural leaning from the globally influenced family he is raised by anyway?

"Absolutely", said he. "The family understand this could fail, but they've simply adopted the view of, 'we should try and we'll proceed as early as we can', because the cost of it is irrelevant," he stated.

Idealistic and Unrealistic

A number of in the education sector who have similar concerns.

Peter Cui, head and founder of Blue Education, who supplies individual instructors, stated that "the process of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, discovering oneself, is something that must be lived into, not engineered."

He explained that he had emigrated from Asia to the United Kingdom at the period of seven, and had been raised experiencing and embodying two backgrounds. He went on to study at a prestigious UK institution.

"The notion that an individual can act as a embodiment of Britishness, someone who can in some way transplant the qualities of a British gentleman upon a infant child, strikes me as optimistic and impractical," he commented.

"Based on my background, employing a quintessentially English tutor from infancy will does not instantly produce the result they desire.

"I never had such a tutor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to enjoy several of the opportunities they desire for their son."

He continued: "The fact is, personal identity cannot be dictated from the outside influences; it must be chosen, and it must originate internally."

Buying Britishness

Naturally, Britishness is something the expert believes can be taught – and commercialized.

"In my view the fact that the global community views us in this regard is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating