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"A family located in the northern part of London seeks an remarkable and experienced instructor to guide their smallest child on his first steps to turning into an British gentleman."

When reading this post, you might easily skip the phrase "initial stages" as mere a turn of phrase.

Yet, it could be the crucial part of this distinctive employment listing, as it aims to hire a teacher for a one-year-old.

Many of submissions have since been sent in since the unnamed family advertised their call for the highly paid tutor, who needs to be "someone very special".

During the past few weeks, the post has attracted interest throughout the media, with many questioning why?

Forward-Thinking Method

Adam Caller, head and founder of an education consultancy, which is supporting the family in their quest, explained that notwithstanding initial doubt, he considered the concept "visionary", and "innovative".

When he spoke with the family, he noted they understood the unusual character of their request, and how young their son is.

Nevertheless, they stated that they "didn't want to wait any longer" to engage a tutor, as they had held off until their firstborn was five, and by that age "cultural conditioning had already become established".

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

It's "all-encompassing", he answered. "How you eat, the way you speak".

He said the older sibling had adopted "really subtle, body language" from the family, and had taken on their cultural norms. The family explained to Adam they did not want history to recur with their new baby.

The intention: To bring in a British tutor, who should speak with standard English accent, to guide the baby from day one.

Subtle Influence

"A lot of the education at the beginning here is kind of absorbed naturally," stated the CEO.

It's by means of this subtle influence that the family are expecting the child will adopt the British traits they wish to impart.

He said the tutor needed to be someone who attended "the appropriate educational institutions – comparable categories of schools as the family aspire to send their son to".

"The instructor must be the right kind of person, they'll be performing things they don't even know they're doing, effortlessly," he commented.

Cost Not Relevant

The family explained to him the selected educator should ideally also have familiarity of or enthusiasm in horse riding, skiing, creative fields and instrumental training so as to shape the child in a diverse set of hobbies.

Furthermore though, he said the family wanted the tutor to enrol the child on a range of courses so the child would be "equestrian training and starting an musical instrument by the time they are around three years old".

In the family's minds, assisting their son grow into a "UK sophisticate" will result in accomplishment and open doors.

"For all the pros and cons of that, because it's certainly a social class indicator," he adds.

However, notwithstanding all this guidance in "English culture", would the child pick up alleged cultural bias from the international family he lives with regardless?

"Absolutely", replied he. "They know this may not work, but they've just taken the attitude of, 'why not attempt it and we'll proceed as quickly as we can', because the cost of it is not a concern," he said.

Idealistic and Unrealistic

A number of in the private teaching field who share those doubts.

An education leader, head and founder of a tutoring service, who also offer private tutors, stated that "the journey of adopting dual cultures, or in fact, forming one's identity, is something that must be experienced personally, not engineered."

Peter explained that he had moved from China to the Britain at the age of 7 years old, and had been brought up experiencing and living dual heritages. He progressed to be educated at a prestigious UK institution.

"The concept that a single person can serve as a living vessel of UK identity, a person who can in some way transfer the qualities of a UK sophisticate onto a 12-month-old child, seems to me idealistic and unfeasible," he commented.

"In my experience, having a quintessentially British tutor from infancy will not automatically produce the outcome they hope for.

"I did not have that kind of mentor, and nevertheless I have been fortunate enough to experience several of the situations they aspire for their son."

He added: "The reality is, personal identity should not be dictated from the outside; it must be embraced, and it must originate internally."

Buying Britishness

Of course, UK identity is something Adam believes can be educated – and sold.

"In my view the situation that the world holds us in this light is something that we should be cherishing|valuing|appreciating