Call us today: 021 156 9281

 

Melanie Coker small.jpg"Hi, I'm Melanie Coker, the  founder and director of AHeadStart Ltd. Tutoring from AHeadStart provides students with the tools to achieve their best, no matter what level they are at.

Starting from five tutors in 2009, AHeadStart now has more than 40 tutors in Christchurch. Over 4,000 students have so far benefitted from our tuition. So many have gone on to achieve degrees they would never have believed possible while at school. Tuition with AHeadStart has opened their minds to the possibilities, altered their dreams for the better and ultimately changed their lives.

I will personally guide each student through the start of their tutoring journey, and make sure they have the best tutor to suit their needs. I give you my personal guarantee."

 

Why AHeadStart Tuition?

  • Personalised one-on-one tutoring in Christchurch - one-on-one or in small groups
  • Convenient Christchurch locations - in person at a local library or in your own home
  • Tuition for all levels - primary (literacy and numeracy), secondary (NCEA, Cambridge and IB) and adult students
  • Expert tutors - high achieving, excellent communicators with a passion for learning
  • Multiple subjects - our tutors can assist students with several subjects within each tutorial
  • Choice of tuition plans - select your desired level of guidance, including progress reports
  • Online tutoring - available all across New Zealand
  • Great value - from $63 per hour for a one-on-one tutorial in person
  • Payment options - pay per tutorial, or in bulk for a 10% discount
  • No fixed term - choose how many tutorials you need to achieve your goals

Contact us for a FREE consultation

 

PERSONALISED ONE-ON-ONE TUITION

Individually customised tutorials match each student's own unique needs

Personalised


Our initial assessment and tailored lessons allows students to be taught more effectively, in a way that meets their own specific requirements.

One-on-one


Individual tuition benefits students as they focus better, increase their confidence and learn more.
 

Expert Tutors


We guide students in their studies and help them develop better study skills, so they perform their best in exams and assessments.

"Thanks for checking in. Ava was very happy with Emma’s tutoring. She was impressed and thinks the way Emma tutors will really work well for her."

Ava's father Blair, August 2024
Year 13, Chemistry

"Thank you for putting us onto Jonathan - he’s been a perfect tutor for Coop - regardless of results.
I hope we will be able to have access to Jonathan again next year? He’s great.
Thanks for everything! All the best for the remainder of exam week!
Stella :)"

Cooper's mother Stella, November 2024
Year 12, Physics

"Just by having 4 or 5 one to one sessions with Melanie, Jack's confidence and understanding of the subject was increased enormously. Jack has said he felt confident with his answers but would not have if he hadn't had the tuition. Thank you Melanie."

Jack’s mother Karen, December 2009
Year 11 Biology, Chemistry & Physics

“I don't know HOW but I got Excellence on my bio internal. They haven't officially given us the results back yet but they put the mark up on moodle (school website) and I just saw it. I don't know how that happened but thank you so much for the help!”

Izzy, July 2015
Year 12, Level 2 Biology

"Thanks for the tutoring, it was much appreciated and most helpful."

Tom Busler, November 2007
Year 13, Level 3 Calculus

“Hi Melanie,
Thought of letting you know that Adi is happy about his Physics paper. He was able to answer everything. I have asked him to let Ariel know.

Cheers, Gathi”

Adi’s mother Gathi, November 2016
Year 12, Physics

“We found AHeadStart very approachable ,quick to respond to our emails and provided an excellent tutor who made our daughter feel comfortable to ask all those questions she needed to understand the subject and pass her subject with better than expected results. Claire.”

Georgia’s mother Claire, January 2016
Year 11, Accounting

“Can I say thank you for Kimberley's tutoring this term. Ashleigh was great, she had a positive encouraging manner and Kimberley responded really well to it. She is keen to continue with tutoring next year.”

Kimberley’s mother Jocelyn, November 2015
Year 11, English

“Tuition for my daughter helped her so much, it was the best decision we made for her in helping her achieve her goals.

Going from home-schooling to suddenly gaining credits for Level 1 and Level 2 was hard, the work load increased and gave her quite the shock. She was very determined though and with the help of her tutors she not only went from struggling in English and Maths but to succeeding in every internal and external she did.

Her tutors were just amazing, they helped her have confidence in what they taught her but most of all they supported her every step of the way giving her an understanding and skills to work through her work.

Was worth every cent especially when we saw for ourselves how much she was improving and how she would go from sitting there confused, asking us as parents for help to understand, to sitting there confidently working through her work knowing what she was doing. She went from getting 'achieved' to 'merit's and for English all 'excellences' for the past two years.

I also found tuition around exam times fantastic, helping her go over all the past exams helped her so much and I believe by doing so it helped her understand what was expected of her in her exams.”

Mikayla’s mother Leeann, January 2016
Year 12, English & Mathematics

"Olivia is happy with her English tutorials and very happy with her “merit” Speech internal result, as she has usually had “achieved” for speeches before now."

Olivia’s mother Sue, May 2015
Year 11, Level 1 English

"Felicity is loving her tutor lessons and getting alot from the sessions. 
We would love to continue next year when school is back."

Felicity's parents Antoinette and Mike, November 2024
Year 10, English & Mathematics

“Good evening Melanie,

Things went really well. He was very good at explaining things. It was a massive help. I will be putting the time in on study at my end now and hope it sticks. 

I will be in touch soon to arrange another session.

Kind regards, Dan”

Daniel, July 2016
Diploma in Electrical Engineering, Mathematics

“We were very pleased with Emma’s results as she gained Level 2 with Excellence. Excellence endorsement in Art design and Biology, Merit endorsement in Maths and passed Physics with 9 ex and 13 merits and Chemistry with 12 ex and 8 achieved. Jackson Roberts was an excellent tutor and Emma would be very keen to continue with him.”

Emma’s mother Catriona, January 2016
Year 12, Chemistry, Mathematics & Physics

“Yes I feel like I'm getting my head around it.
Your help has been so great. Thank you. Such a relief.”

Lisa, January 2016
Graduate Diploma in Business, Mathematics

“Mae has found Emma to be an excellent tutor. She was punctual, knowledgeable and friendly. Mae said she could always answer her questions and was an informative teacher. Her exact words were "she knew heaps about chemistry!"

Please pass on our thanks to Emma.”

Mae’s mother Truus, November 2015
Year 12, Chemistry

"My son did not achieve in the first school topic test for physical science. After getting tuition from Melanie all his other topic tests were Merits and Excellences and his end of the year test for Year 11 was Merits and Excellences. Thank you very much Melanie. "

Supun’s father Rohana, December 2009
Year 11, Level 1 Chemistry & Physics

“I had my Chemistry exam yesterday and my Statistics exam today. I was surprised that I wasn't worried about the chem one, but I was a bit for the stats one. They both went better than expected. I was especially proud of my knowledge of aqueous solutions, and even helped some people out before the exam. I wanted to thank you because I have improved not only in my knowledge but in my study habits!”

Alex, November 2013
Year 13, Chemistry & Statistics

“Hi Melanie

Having Aria as Mackenzie's tutor for Maths has been the best decision - it has made a huge difference to her understanding of the topic. This has shown up in her confidence and been reflected in her grades at school. One to one lessons has been the great benefit compared to the classroom where she struggled to get the teachers attention for most of the year. Mackenzie did well in her internal geometric reasoning exam and felt confident going into the end of year exam - however she said it was a strange exam compared to what they had been learning so end results will tell.

So please give Aria a huge thank you and we would love to have her time again next year. Overall I am pleased with your service and the reports provide Mackenzie with great support.

So best wishes for the end of the year and I will re-enrol for next year.

Many thanks, Bronwyn”

Mackenzie’s mother Bronwyn, November 2016
Year 11, Mathematics

"Thank you :) you’re an amazing tutor thanks so much."

Haley, November 2011
Year 13, Level 3 Biology & Statistics

"Mathew is enjoying the sessions, claiming he has learnt more in 2 hours with Molly than he has learnt in 2 years with his teacher who he has had for years 10 and 11."

Mathew’s mother Ellie, October 2012
Year 11, Level 1 Mathematics

"We have absolutely loved Alexandria and she has made a huge difference for Flo's understanding of fractions. Flo has made the progress she was hoping to.
Many thanks."

Flo's mother Colette, September 2025
Year 7 Mathematics

“Josh, like many young people, will absorb information in a one on one far more effectively than in a classroom so the tutoring focused and supported him as he started to realize that his results were important to his future. The Tutoring was effective in focusing him and helping him realize "he can do this!".”

Josh’s father Dave, January 2014
Year 13, Level 3 Calculus, Chemistry & Physics

“I think that without the tuition I received, I wouldn't have been able to get the grades that I did. For example, through tuition, I learned how to write NCEA answers in a concise way. This helped me to save time on the exam and gave me extra time at the end to re-check all of my answers.”

Ellen, January 2014
Year 13, Level 3 Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics

“Ben was nervous initially. Afterwards he said it was really good and he felt relieved and a little bit excited that he finally understood it.”

Ben’s mother Sarah, October 2015
Year 11, Science

"Just thought I would let you and Daniel know, Daniel passed NCEA he got a total of 124 credits out of 124.

He was flunking Algebra at the beginning of the year, Daniel helped him in Algebra and Daniel got a Merit in NCEA!

Some of the sciences Daniel was weak in and he passed all of them with some Merits. The most important Physics with merit which is the science he is doing next year.

As I said the tutoring he had with Daniel made a huge difference and encouraged our Daniel to try and do better."

Daniel’s mother Kerrie, January 2012
Year 11, Level 1 Mathematics & Science

TUITION FOR ALL LEVELS

Tutorials are available for primary, secondary and adult students

PRIMARY STUDENTS

Your child may require help to catch up in reading, writing or maths, gain confidence and build a strong foundation.

Or they may want extension in their favourite subject, or one not covered much at primary school, such as science or coding.

Whatever your child's goals, our primary school tutors will guide your child through every tutorial through regular assessment and lots of encouragement!

More About Primary Tuition >

SECONDARY STUDENTS

Secondary school can be a stressful time for students, especially with regular NCEA assessments throughout the year. Fitting study in around sports and other extracurricular activities can also be challenging.

Whether a student wants to gain enough credits to pass the year, or is aiming for a Merit or Excellence endorsement, our tutors can assist to make that goal a reality. And of course we can also help with Cambridge and International Baccalaureate.
 

 
More About Secondary Tuition >

ADULT STUDENTS

As an adult student it can often be difficult getting back into study, as it may have been years since you opened a text book. You may also be tacking an unfamiliar subject such as mathematics or science.

On top of this you may be studying part time or extramurally, so it may a challenge to fit study around your daily life. Our tutors can help you streamline the learning process, so you can get through your studies with confidence!
 

More About Adult Tuition >

MULTIPLE SUBJECTS

Our tutors can assist students with many subjects in each tutorial

  1. AHeadStart can assist students with 30 different subjects - Maths, English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Science and Accounting tutoring, are just a small selection.
  2. Most AHeadStart tutors have strengths in multiple NCEA, Cambridge and International Baccalaureate® (IB) subjects, even including subjects as diverse as English, Mathematics & Science!
  3. Flexibility of tutorial structure means students can choose which subjects the cover in a lesson. This means tutors can prepare students as best as possible before each school assessment.
  4. Students benefit by having one tutor to cover several subjects and make the most out of every tutorial.

 

 

Accounting

Secondary & Adult Tuition

English

Primary, Secondary & Adult Tuition

Mathematics

Primary, Secondary & Adult Tuition

Science

Primary, Secondary & Adult Tuition

OUR NUMBERS SAY IT ALL

Students

3,659+

 

Students have chosen AHeadStart

Tutors

40+

 

AHeadStart tutors to choose

Hours

60,702+

 

Hours of tuition provided

EXPERT TUTORS

Students choose their own tutor from a selection to match their specific needs

  1. Our team of Christchurch tutors are high achievers, excellent communicators and passionate about sharing their knowledge.
  2. Every tutor has personal experience of NCEA, Cambridge or IB at secondary school, and know what it takes to achieve success. Many tutors were Dux or Proxime Accessit, or involved in leadership positions such as Head Boy or Head Girl.
  3. Our tutors are selected via a very thorough interview process. All tutors are screened by the NZ Police prior to being placed with students.

 

TUITION PLANS

Students select a tuition plan to match their goals and level of motivation

ONE-ON-ONE TUITION

PLATINUM PLAN

For students who lack motivation and need guidance with their studies. Includes weekly homework and progress reports every 5 tutorials.

More Details

GOLD PLAN

For self-motivated students who take charge of their own learning and have questions about their school work.
 

More Details

GROUP TUITION

SILVER PLAN

For self-motivated students wanting personalised tuition in pairs.

Students need to have a sibling or friend they would like to have tuition with before choosing this plan.

More Details

GROUP PLAN

For self-motivated students who would like tuition in a small group.

Students need to have two siblings or friends they would like to have tuition with before choosing this plan.

More Details

TUITION FREQUENCY

Students choose how often they would like to see their tutor to match their needs

WEEKLY
 

  • Students have a regular weekly tutorial (or more) during the school terms.
  • Suits students who want consistent help throughout the year to stay on top of their schoolwork.

 

CASUAL
 

  • Students schedule tutorials as required, with no ongoing commitment.
  • Suits students who need help for a short period to catch up on missed work or assistance before assessments.
     

 

 

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Tuition at a local library or in your own home

Libraries

15+

Libraries where
AHeadStart has tutorials

Suburbs

70+

Suburbs where students
can be tutored at home

CONVENIENT LOCATIONS

A range of locations to suit your needs

  

City Libraries


Christchurch Public Libraries and the University of Canterbury provide a studious environment and inspire students to use these spaces in their own learning time.

We Can Come To You


Home tuition is available in Christchurch for those with busy schedules and offers a familiar, safe environment for the student to learn.