Children aged two are taking elocution lessons to prevent them picking up a foreign accent from their nannies or parents.
The action is being taken by wealthy families who believe their child will stand a better chance of securing a place at a highly sought-after infant school.
But campaigners have criticised the move by saying it puts too much pressure on the youngsters.
The director of Simply Learning Tuition, Nathaniel McCullagh, said three-year-olds - and even some two-year-olds - were enrolled at his private tuition firm throughout the year.
He said: 'Often the parents who call us do not speak English at home.
'Some of our clients often have quite distinct accents such as Spanish or Russian. Some parents are frustrated as they are often not understood by people and so worry that by teaching their own children about things like sentence structure from the very beginning might be teaching them the wrong thing.'
'It's about giving the child confidence and our tutors know how to work with two- and three-year-olds. We are not trying to sit down two-year-olds and tell them how to get into a certain school.
He said they only accept children this young when they have specific speech problems such as not speaking very much, are short sighted or have problems socialising with others. Elocution lessons can help 'nip in the bud' confidence issues, he said.
Mr McCullagh said: 'Parents often don't know how to detect medical problems but tutors can help identify these problems.'
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He said many of his clients were ‘very wealthy’ and that parents believed an elocution tutor would help their children pronounce their consonants but some schools have criticised starting elocution so young.
A spokesman for independent junior school Hill House School, in Knightsbridge, West London, was quoted in The Times: ‘Let them enjoy their childhood, we don’t want any tutoring done.’
Rising numbers of people of all ages across Britain are also turning to elocution lessons to reduce their regional accents according to according to research by the thetutorpages.com website last year.
In Essex, primary school teachers have introduced elocution lessons in an effort improve pupils’ elocution which they say is having a damaging effect on children’s spelling and grammar.
The spotlight has been turned on the Essex accent following the huge success of the reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex.
Under fire: Some wealthy parents believe the move will help their children secure a highly sought-after school place but campaigners fear the extra pressure may be too much for youngsters
The children are learning to say ‘computer’ instead of ‘computa’ and ‘aren’t’ in place of ‘ain’t’ as well as being told to stop ending sentences with ‘yeah?’.
Up to 200 seven to 11-year-olds are having weekly lessons with a private tutor at the Cherry Tree Primary School in Basildon, Essex.
During the sessions, children run through speech exercises and are encouraged to use ‘posh voices’.
Among reasons given for seeking elocution lessons were a desire to be taken more seriously and worries about employment and promotion prospects. Many also had a fear of public speaking and giving presentations at work or at job interviews according to a report done by thetutorpages.com.
Maggie Hall, a speech and drama teacher in Brighton, said one factor behind the rise in requests for elocution coaching in the last year was The King’s Speech, the film starring Colin Firth as King George VI, who sought assistance from a speech therapist to help him overcome his fear of public speaking.
Extra lessons: Rising numbers of schools are teaching elocution. At Cherry Tree Primary School in Essex, 11-year-olds are having weekly lessons with a private tutor (pictured)
She said: ‘Personally, I blame The King’s Speech, although nobody really wants to speak like the Queen, or her father as played by Colin Firth in the film. The people to listen to these days for a really good example of “received pronunciation” are actors such as Ben Kingsley, Patrick Stewart or Judy Dench.’
Henry Fagg, director of thetutorpages.com, said: 'There appears to be a significant change taking place in our culture which, despite the popularity of TV shows like The Only Way is Essex, is making elocution lessons and voice coaching fashionable again.
'You could say it’s a return to the days of Professor Higgins and Eliza Doolittle, when many ambitious people were denied opportunities because they spoke with a regional or working-class accent. A lot of people who have contacted us do appear to be trying to improve their prospects by learning to present themselves better and to speak more clearly.'