A Class of Their Own

1. Entering the World of Extreme Wealth

I had never felt less like a man with a trade.

Post-graduation uncertainty. After graduating and a failed Edinburgh Fringe show, the protagonist moves back home, facing parental pressure to get a job amidst the 2008 financial crash. A friend suggests private tutoring, offering a seemingly lucrative path compared to his previous holiday jobs as a waiter. Despite having no experience, his Cambridge degree is seen as a valuable commodity by the agency.

First impressions. His initial foray into the world of private tutoring immediately exposes him to extreme wealth he'd only glimpsed before. Clients live in multi-million-pound properties in exclusive London areas like Mayfair and Chelsea. He encounters bodyguards, mews entrances, and strict protocols like wearing shoe covers, highlighting the vast difference from his own background and sparking immediate feelings of inadequacy.

A new reality. This isn't the familiar wealth of his private school peers with swimming pools and Jaguars; it's a level of luxury where cost is irrelevant. The sheer scale and ostentation of the homes and lifestyles are overwhelming, reinforcing his sense of being an outsider despite his privileged education. He quickly learns that fitting in requires navigating unspoken rules and projecting a certain image.

2. Tutoring: More Posh Babysitting Than Teaching

God no. It’s posh babysitting.

Low expectations. The protagonist starts as a "study buddy," a role that often involves little actual teaching. Clients frequently leave him alone with the children, showing minimal interest in his qualifications or methods. The focus is often less on academic progress and more on providing supervision or fulfilling a perceived social norm among wealthy parents.

Minimal engagement. Many pupils, like Horace, show little interest in the material or effort in their work, knowing that minimal input is required for them to progress. The tutor's role often devolves into simply ensuring homework is completed, sometimes even doing it for them, rather than fostering genuine learning or critical thinking skills.

Beyond academics. The job expands beyond traditional tutoring to include tasks like feeding children, taking them to museums, or even accompanying families on lavish holidays. The high hourly rate feels disproportionate to the actual educational value provided, leading the protagonist and his friend Zoe to label it "posh babysitting," a means for parents to outsource childcare and homework supervision.

3. The Absurdity and Excess of Client Lifestyles

The house had been newly built to the family’s own design, the proportions so big they had run out of ideas for filling the space.

Unimaginable luxury. The clients inhabit a world of extreme wealth characterized by sprawling mansions, private jets, personal chefs, butlers, and staff for every conceivable need. The sheer scale of their properties and the casual display of opulence are often baffling and sometimes absurd, like a house so large they didn't know what to put in the rooms.

Casual extravagance. Everyday life involves luxuries most people only dream of, treated with nonchalance.

• Ordering takeaway lobster tempura for a five-year-old's supper.
• Owning a restaurant just to avoid traffic jams.
• Flying to Rome for dinner because a local restaurant's trout was "subpar."
• Having a personal chef who can make "Hemingway" eggs.

Detachment from reality. This level of wealth creates a bubble where normal concerns and inconveniences cease to exist. The protagonist observes a detachment from the value of money and labor, exemplified by the casual waste of expensive food or the expectation that staff are available for trivial tasks at any moment.

4. Wealth's Impact on Children: Privilege and Pressure

If he doesn’t do it, someone else will.

Learned helplessness. Children of extreme wealth often exhibit a form of learned helplessness, knowing that if they don't exert effort, someone else (a tutor, a nanny, a parent) will step in to solve the problem. This can manifest as a lack of motivation, resistance to work, or an expectation that tasks will be done for them.

Intense pressure. Despite their privilege, these children face immense pressure, particularly regarding elite school admissions. Parents invest heavily in tutoring and extracurriculars, viewing their children's success as a reflection of their own status. This pressure can lead to anxiety, emotional distress, and a feeling that their worth is tied to academic achievement or getting into the "right" school.

Emotional toll. The children's lives are often highly scheduled and lacking in genuine connection or freedom. The protagonist witnesses moments of vulnerability and sadness, suggesting that the gilded cage of extreme wealth comes at an emotional cost, leaving them isolated or struggling to express their true feelings.

5. Navigating Personal Insecurities Around Money

I had never shaken the fear that I might be found out at any moment.

Deep-seated insecurity. Growing up on a staff bursary at a private school instilled in the protagonist a lifelong insecurity around wealth. He constantly compares himself to his wealthier peers and clients, feeling inadequate or like a fraud despite his academic achievements. This manifests in anxieties about his appearance, possessions (like his shoes), and social standing.

Performance and pretense. To cope with these insecurities and fit into the clients' world, he often performs a version of himself he thinks they expect. This involves adopting certain mannerisms, pretending knowledge he doesn't have, or hiding aspects of his identity, like his sexuality, fearing they would complicate the desired "profile."

Material validation. The world of wealth offers tempting, albeit superficial, forms of validation. Impulsive purchases, like expensive trainers, provide a temporary sense of belonging or confidence, highlighting the internal struggle between his values and the allure of material signifiers of success.

6. The Transactional Nature of Relationships

So what have we been paying you for?

Relationships as services. In the world of the super-rich, many relationships, including those with tutors, are fundamentally transactional. People are hired to fulfill specific needs or roles, and their value is often measured solely by the service they provide or the outcome they deliver, rather than their intrinsic worth.

Disposable staff. Staff, from housekeepers to tutors, can be treated as disposable commodities. Their personal lives, needs, or feelings are often disregarded if they conflict with the clients' convenience or goals, as seen when Zoraida's request to visit her sick brother is met with a threat to her job.

Conditional connection. Even seemingly warm interactions can be conditional. The protagonist experiences moments of connection with clients and their children, but these can be abruptly terminated if he is no longer deemed necessary or if a desired outcome (like school admission) is not achieved, reinforcing the underlying transactional dynamic.

7. Moments of Genuine Connection Amidst Artifice

Daddy?

Unexpected bonds. Despite the artificiality and transactional nature of the environment, moments of genuine human connection occasionally break through. These often occur unexpectedly, revealing vulnerability or trust from the children or staff.

Vulnerability and trust. Children like Felix and Emil, despite their privileged and often isolated lives, sometimes seek connection or reveal their true feelings to the protagonist. Emil's innocent "Daddy?" or Felix's tears over Zoraida's firing and his fear of more tutors highlight their need for stable, caring relationships beyond the paid services.

Shared humanity. Connections with staff, like Zoraida, offer a different perspective and a sense of shared experience as outsiders navigating the clients' world. These moments, often involving shared frustrations or small acts of kindness, provide glimpses of authentic relationships based on mutual understanding rather than financial exchange.

8. Searching for Purpose Beyond the Golden Handcuffs

This wasn’t a vocation. It was the easiest way to finance my writing career.

Initial motivation. The protagonist initially views tutoring primarily as a means to an end – a way to earn money to support his true ambition of becoming a writer. The high pay rate makes it an attractive option, despite his ethical reservations or lack of passion for the work itself.

Questioning the value. As he becomes more embedded in the tutoring world, he grapples with the lack of genuine educational purpose and the superficiality of many client interactions. He questions the value of his work, particularly when it involves enabling cheating or catering to parental vanity projects, leading to disillusionment.

Seeking alternative meaning. This dissatisfaction prompts him to seek more meaningful pursuits, such as volunteering for an LGBT charity or pursuing his filmmaking ambitions. These endeavors, though initially challenging or unpaid, offer a sense of purpose and authenticity that the tutoring world increasingly lacks, pushing him towards a different path.

9. Authenticity vs. Performance in a World of Appearances

This was the kind of experience you weren’t meant to have in a place like this, where even nature was manipulated to deny its rough edges.

Performing a role. The protagonist often feels he is performing a role to fit into the clients' world, hiding aspects of his personality and background. This includes downplaying his sexuality, adopting certain mannerisms, and pretending to share their values or interests, creating a disconnect between his public persona and his private self.

The cost of concealment. This constant performance is exhausting and contributes to his feeling of being a fraud. The experience in Dubai, where he feels compelled to hide his sexuality in a seemingly hostile environment, highlights the emotional toll of concealment and prompts reflection on how long he has been hiding parts of himself.

Moments of truth. Unexpected moments, like getting caught in a rainstorm in Dubai or admitting his sexuality to Felix, become significant because they allow him to drop the performance and be authentic. These instances, though sometimes awkward or challenging, offer a sense of liberation and a clearer view of the artificiality of the world he inhabits.

10. Contrasting Worlds: From Dorset to Dubai

At school in Dorset, being rich meant a swimming pool in the garden or a Jaguar in the garage. But I was starting to realise I had only seen the half of it.

Escalating scale of wealth. The protagonist's journey takes him from the relatively modest wealth of his Dorset boarding school to the extreme, globalized wealth of London oligarchs and Dubai hedge fund managers. Each new environment reveals a higher level of luxury and detachment from ordinary life, constantly redefining his understanding of "rich."

Geographic contrasts. The physical locations mirror the different facets of wealth and the protagonist's experiences:

• Dorset: His humble origins and initial insecurities.
• London (Mayfair, Chelsea, Highgate): The core of his tutoring work, revealing layers of British and international wealth.
• Moscow: The opaque world of oligarchs and casual extravagance.
• St Moritz: Old money traditions and the performance of leisure.
• Tuscany: European villa life and family dynamics.
• Dubai: Hyper-modern excess and artificial environments.

Shifting perspectives. Traveling with clients exposes him to lifestyles far removed from his own, forcing him to confront his prejudices and assumptions about wealth. While initially critical, he sometimes finds himself seduced by the ease and luxury, highlighting the complex and often contradictory nature of his feelings towards this world.

11. Finding Belonging and Identity

I felt more at ease than I ever had in London or Cambridge.

Search for belonging. Throughout his experiences, the protagonist is searching for a place where he feels he truly belongs. He struggles to fit in with the wealthy clients, feels like an outsider in the professional world, and even finds his initial London flat share alienating.

Authentic connections. Unexpected connections, particularly with other gay individuals like Peter and Toby in Scotland, provide a sense of ease and acceptance he hasn't found elsewhere. These relationships allow him to be more fully himself, free from the need to perform or conceal aspects of his identity.

Defining self-worth. His journey involves redefining his self-worth beyond external validation or financial success. Through volunteering, pursuing his creative projects, and building genuine relationships, he begins to find purpose and belonging that are independent of the tutoring world and the wealth he navigates.

Last updated: May 3, 2025