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.

"Heya melanie itz bri n john uzt 2 giv me physicz tutorin. I wld lyk 2 say fanku so much 4 it realli helped me. I cldnt hav done it wifout aheadstart!"

Brianna, January 2010
Year 12, Level 2 Physics

"I learnt how to take a question and work through it simply and correctly. I was taught how to properly use the formulas given, to understand and answer selected questions. I was taught the information which I needed to know for the exam which I had not been properly taught."

Danielle, December 2009
Year 12, Level 2 Physics

"We found Caitlin excellent as tutor, Rebecca reports that she was very knowledgeable about the material and even lent her a text book for study. Rebecca related well to Caitlin and enjoyed her sessions. We are very grateful for having found your service, as I believe correspondence on its own would have been sadly lacking – I think there is definitely room for some improvement in their resources and methods of instruction, the assigned teacher at the school was pleasant but Rebecca had little contact outside of brief written comments on her work papers."

Rebecca’s mother Noreen, November 2011
Year 12, Level 2 Mathematics

“Many thanks to Aaron and yourself for the support you have given Mathew this year.”

Mathew’s mother Andrea, November 2015
Year 11, English

“Hi Melanie. Just to let you know it went really well with Josh earlier this evening. Both Molly and Pippa said he knew what he was talking about (unlike their teacher!!0 and was really helpful.”

Molly’s mother Pip, September 2014
Year 12, Mathematics

"Isabella had a really good tutoring session with Hannah, thank you. She was very grateful for Hannah's help with her physics.
Thank you for arranging and for checking in."

Isabella's mother Deanne, May 2026
Year 13, Physics

"It went well thanks, Lily said it was good and is keen for more.
Lily said Stuti’s approach worked well for her."

Lily's father Neil, February 2025
Year 13, Statistics

“Hi Melanie thank you for your tutoring last year, I just wanted you to know that I got excellence in bio! Thank you for helping me get there :)”

Rachel, January 2017
Year 13, Biology

"Hi Melanie. It’s Nick. Just letting you know I got 63% for my maths test. Yes! A few silly mistake, so I could have done better but anyway 63 is better than a 0!"

Nick, June 2012
Level 100 Mathematics

“Hey they went really well thanks. I got merit in all my papers and one E in the reactivity chem paper. So overall I got merit endorsed in Chemistry, Physics, Calculus and English. Definitely improved because of tutoring. Thank you so much :)”

Thea to Marwah, January 2017
Year 12,
Chemistry, Mathematics & Physics

“Hi Melanie,

Zane said Cameron was really good.  He worked through his speech and claims that Cameron puts things in a way that he can actually understand.  He is really positive about the tutoring and is looking forward to Wednesday’s session.

Thank you so much for your help with this, it is much appreciated.

Regards, Storme.”

Zane’s mother Storme, October 2016
Year 11, English

“[William] thinks his physics exam today went really well, fingers crossed.

Thank you so much for all your help Mel, you've been brilliant. We would like you to help William out again next year with calculus & science.”

William’s mother Deb, November 2015
Year 12, Chemistry, Mathematics & Physics

"Nick has done extremely well. He failed his last Eco exams. This time he got excellent for one paper and merit for the other two!!! What an amazing improvement. Please pass this on to Sarah."

Nick’s mother Kim, November 2011
Year 11, Level 1 Economics

“Hi Melanie

Sorry for late response but in relation to Friday’s session the feedback I received from Braxton was really good. He said it was a really good session with Zak and he understands what they were working on sooooo much better so please can you pass on my thanks to Zak.

Kind Regards, Donna.”

Braxton’s mother Donna, May 2016
Year 11, Accounting

“Bridget had really valued her sessions with Amelia and found them to be a great help. Amelia was very easy to work with."

Bridget’s mother Sarah, September 2015
Year 11, Chemistry, Physics & Mathematics

"I am from St Andrew's College and have received tutoring from Melanie for the past two years, in Chemistry, Physics, [Mathematics] and Calculus in NCEA levels 2 & 3. I have found it very helpful to revise work that I was unsure of and for practical problem solving. I Found Melanie easy to relate to, and she had a wide knowledge of all the above subjects."

Tom Whitehead, December 2007
Year 13, Level 3 Calculus, Chemistry & Physics

"Thanks for everything - exams went well and just await results in January. Jackson was delightful and has the makings of a great teacher / communicator of science - a young man going places!"

Josie’s mother Juliet, November 2014
Year 12, Chemistry & Physics

“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

"Many thanks for the Molly’s input with Charlotte over these last few months. The tutoring has really made a different. I have certainly been telling colleagues about your service."

Charlotte’s mother Catherine, December 2013
Year 13 Calculus & Physics

“I would recommend AHeadStart to anyone - the one-on-one approach really works well and has benefited my teenage children. It is money well spent.”

Lauren’s & Sam’s mother Erin, January 2014
Year 9 & Year 12, Mathematics

“Hi Melanie

Sam really enjoyed it and thought Sean was awesome.  His words were 'he's young and cool, and he stays on the subject, he doesn't get distracted and start talking about other things'.  So there's an honest answer from mine.  Sam is quite a social chatter so it sounds good that Sean will keep him on task. He was excited telling me about it which is what I thought as he likes one on one or in this case two to one.

I'll definitely keep you posted.  My husband dropped Sam and met Sean and he said he gets a good feeling and that we will see results.  All in all, a great first review.

Very happy indeed.  Thanks so much.”

Sam’s mother Rochelle, March 2016
Year 7, Mathematics

“Tuition with AHeadStart helped me in so many ways especially in the areas I knew I needed help in. Coming from being home schooled to doing NCEA Level 1 and Level 2 was a whole new experience for me. I had never sat major exams before or any internals. When I started I discovered I was quite behind so we started to look into tutoring lessons. Not only did Melanie help us through every stage, she allowed me to choose tutors that I felt comfortable with. My first year of tutoring was amazing, the tutors were so helpful and gave me the skills I needed for English and Mathematics (internals and externals).”

Mikayla, January 2016
Year 12, English & Mathematics

"Harry is a fantastic tutor and Scarlett has really enjoyed her lessons with him."

Scarlett's mother Claire, November 2024
Year 12, Level 3 Calculus

"Just thought I'd pass on that Beau really enjoyed his first session with Louie.  His comment was 'I thought Clara was good, but Louie just makes it so easy to understand and we get through so much.'
Thanks again Melanie- it takes a huge load of my mind knowing that your tutors are of such a high quality."

Beau's mother Kelly, September 2025
Year 11 Accounting

“Hi Melanie

We really want to say thank you for your professional and friendly service. The tuition has certainly helped Benjamin to achieve better in Physics and Maths. He really does struggle with his learning and we were encouraging him to tackle these tricky subjects to allow him to achieve in these UE subjects.

Please pass onto James that he has been amazing and Benjamin really enjoyed receiving tuition from him. He was very good at encouraging and teaching Ben at Ben's level of understanding.

Many thanks, Sarah”

Ben’s mother Sarah, November 2016
Year 12, Physics

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.