For Families
Not tutoring.
Formation.
The difference between a tutor who helps with homework and a governess who shapes a mind is the difference between repair and creation.
The Distinction
What aristocratic tutoring actually means.
Aristocratic tutoring — as distinct from SAT prep or homework help — was the dominant mode of elite education for several millennia. It is characterised not by drilling measurables, but by genuine intellectual companionship between an advanced mind and a developing one.
A governess does not arrive with a lesson plan. She arrives with a book, a question, a problem, a language. She models what serious intellectual engagement looks like. She introduces your child to Euclid not as a geometry textbook but as one of the great intellectual achievements of human civilisation. She reads Tolstoy in Russian and then reads it again with your child. She teaches Latin because Latin teaches the mind to think precisely.
Benjamin Bloom's research found that the average tutored student outperformed 98% of students taught in conventional classrooms — a two-standard-deviation effect so large it is sometimes called "the 2 Sigma Problem." We are not trying to solve that problem. We are trying to exploit it.
Our Approach
What makes this different.
Conventional Tutoring
- Focused on a specific test or grade
- Corrective — applied when something is wrong
- Treats the curriculum as the goal
- Ends when the grade improves
- No relationship beyond the session
- Measured in test scores
Governess Programme
- Focused on the formation of a mind
- Enriching — applied to children who are thriving
- Treats curiosity as the goal
- Becomes part of the fabric of childhood
- A lasting intellectual relationship
- Measured in a life of the mind
The Process
What to expect.
The Inquiry
You tell us about your child — their age, their current interests, what captivates them, and what you hope for their intellectual life. There is no form that captures this well, so we prefer a conversation.
The Introduction
We arrange a meeting between your family and a governess whose expertise and disposition align with your child. The chemistry of this relationship is everything — we take the matching seriously.
The Arrangement
Sessions are typically two to four hours, two to three times per week. Some families prefer intensive summer programmes; others maintain year-round relationships. We accommodate both.
The Education
Your governess will not follow a syllabus. She will follow your child. The curriculum will be whatever your child finds most alive — and then gently, patiently, she will make everything else alive too.
Rates
Transparent pricing.
Governesses set their own rates. You may also arrange fixed monthly retainers or live-in arrangements, which we can discuss during the inquiry process.
Begin an InquiryHourly
$85 – $110
Per session, two to four hours. Most common arrangement for families in the same city.
Monthly Retainer
From $2,400
Fixed monthly rate for regular sessions. Includes curriculum planning and family correspondence.
Summer Programme
By arrangement
Intensive summer engagements, including live-in options. Discuss your vision with us.
Begin
Ready to begin?
The right governess changes everything. Tell us about your child, and we will find her.