Tutor to the children of the super-rich opens up about his most bizarre experiences – from being spanked by a naked Russian oligarch in a sauna to drunk mothers sharing their marital woes
- Cambridge grad Matt Knott became a tutor after graduating during recession
- The job took him around the world, working in Russia, Miami, and more
- He revealed that sometimes he felt like he was paid to be the children’s friend
- His book A Class of Their Own: adventures in tutoring the super-rich is out now
A writer has revealed some of the stranger experiences he’s had while working as a tutor to children of the super-rich – including being spanked by one of the fathers.
Cambridge graduate Matt Knott, author of the comic memoir A Class of Their Own: adventures in tutoring the super-rich, appeared on This Morning today to talk about his unusual career.
He revealed that he wanted to become a writer, but after graduating from university during the last recession, he needed a way to earn money and pay the rent.
‘I heard about private tutoring, specifically what’s called being a study buddy,’ he told This Morning hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond.
‘This is basically where you’re helping kids do their homework, and it seemed relatively easy.
Matt Knott, a Cambridge graduate, appeared on This Morning today to discuss his experiences as a tutor to children of the super-rich
Hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond were shocked by some of his stories – which included being spanked by the father of one of his pupils
‘I even had one mum say to me, “You know, he doesn’t really need a tutor, but everyone else in his class has one”.’
As his tutoring career developed, he moved from this entry-level work to more high-pressured jobs, working with families from all around the world who wanted to get their children into competitive private schools.
Working with these families took him around the world, to places including Dubai, Tuscany, Moscow, and Miami among others.
Dermot asked if the pressure put on the children added a ‘sad undertone’ to the job.
Matt replied: ‘They were under a lot of pressure and often also, their parents had outsourced things to so many different members of staff that I did feel at times that I was being paid to be their friend.’
He added that he sometimes felt he was being paid to be friends with the mothers also.
‘There were some who really enjoyed spending time with the tutor and even got drunk and confessed their marital woes to me.’
One of the more shocking anecdotes Matt shares about spending time with the parents of his charges takes place in Russia, while tutoring the son of an oligarch who wanted to get into Eton.
After spending a lot of time with the child’s mother, the oligarch invited Matt to have a sauna with him, in the basement.
‘He walked in, completely naked,’ revealed Matt.
‘He was showing me who’s boss. It was surreal because there were speakers playing panpipe [music], there was a disco light rotating, and we were both wearing these felt caps that you wear to keep your heads cool.
‘Then, part of the traditional Russian experience is that you get spanked by birchwood.
Matt appeared on the programme to promote his comic memoir A Class of Their Own: adventures in tutoring the super-rich (displayed by presenter Alison Hammond)
The author’s shocking tales saw This Morning hosts Dermot and Alison react with disbelief – and peals of laughter
Matt explained that there could also be a dark side to tutoring – with families sometimes putting huge amounts of pressure on children to get into certain prestigious schools
‘There’s not a line in the tutoring handbook about what you do when a naked Russian oligarch offers to spank you after taking a sauna.
‘The client is always right so I let him spank me as much as he liked. But I lived to tell the tale.’
Dermot asked what kind of pressure is put on the tutors themselves to get children into specific schools.
‘Often, places at these schools is one of the few things parents cannot just buy directly, so they throw money at the tutor.
‘But sometimes the kid is just destined to be academic or not.’
He added that sometimes getting into certain schools is ‘not just about innate ability’, but also about confidence and whether children have been trained to be in that environment.
When it came to the tutoring relationship ending, Matt revealed it could go two ways.
‘It comes to results day, it’s either a nice bonus or…[we’ll never see you again].’
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