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.

"The tutors are doing a great job with helping students to learn new study techniques."

Neil Viegas, December 2009
Year 11, Level 2 Mathematics

“I felt the help Anna received was invaluable and has made a positive contribution to her general development in both maturity , conscious application of concepts grasped and reflective appraisal of own work. Extremely rewarding to see and of immense worth to Anna and her self-esteem.”

Anna’s mother, January 2016
Year 12, Biology & Mathematics

“I have to say that Jeremy was not only a fabulous tutor but also a good role model for an impressionable 12 year old boy! He now wants to go to University to do a mechanical or electrical engineering degree majoring in robotics!!

Thanks again and no doubt I will be calling on your services at some stage in the future.”

Josh’s mother Lee, May 2015
Year 7, Mathematics

“AHeadStart is a fantastic tutoring company! With tutors who help each individual students and cater to their specific needs, and with the flexibility of being able to come to your own home. AHeadStart is definitely a tutoring company I would recommend.”

Matthew, January 2016
Year 12, Chemistry

“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

 “I would highly recommend AHeadStart for students undertaking NCEA. It has been especially helpful for helping our children to understand how NCEA works and to manage and prepare for the external exams."

Holly’s & Bernadette's mother Mary, January 2014
Year 11 & Year 12, Chemistry, Mathematics & Science

"If left to his own devices, I am not sure our son would have achieved such great results. Melanie provided great resources and tuition, and also helped him to believe that he could do it. "

Kieran’s mother Marian, December 2009
Year 12, Level 2 Chemistry, Mathematics & Physics

“Hi Chloe, it’s Olivia just wanted to let you know that I passed both of my externals for chemistry that we worked on :) and passed NCEA and got my UE :)”

Olivia, January 2013
Year 12, Chemistry

“We are very happy with Claudia’s lessons and that her test results in class have improved considerably, with her end of year report and conversations with her science teacher supporting her growth in this subject.  Claudia’s confidence has grown heaps! 

Claudia is a quiet student who struggles to ask for help when she needs it, so the one on one lessons have been amazing for her.  Marwah is fantastic and Claudia just loves her, which makes her lessons a delight rather than a chore. 

Thank you for our short time with you last year and we really look forward to 2014 with AHeadStart.”

Claudia’s mother Trish, January 2014
Year 11, Mathematics & Science

“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

"Hey Melanie thanks for a great year I passed with merit overall! And I got two merits and one achieved in bio. Thanks heaps!"

Matt, January 2012
Year 12, Biology

"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

"I just want to say thank you so much for your help throughout the year. I passed the [medical imaging] course. Also, I received a phone call yesterday from a lady from CPIT she phoned me to say that I have won a maths award, I can't believe it! I get it next week and I won $250 with the certificate. I won it because they picked students who came in knowing nothing about maths then coming out with top marks, my final maths exam score was 80% which I was so happy with. And my statistic and math methods was at 80% as well, I honestly thought I was going to fail!"

Lea, December 2015
Pre-Health, Mathematics & Biology

"The time and money invested with AHeadStart this term has made a huge difference to my son's study skills, knowledge, understanding and confidence of the subjects he worked on with Melanie. We are sure he will gain hugely improved results from end of term 3 to NCEA externals, which would never had been possible without AHeadStart's help and have recommended them to others."

Jack’s mother Karen, December 2009
Year 11, Level 1 Physical Science

“The tuition helped immensely, prior to tuition, Edie felt like physics was a foreign language and she was not capable of understanding it. Her tutor made her see how easy it was and gave her loads of confidence because he knew exactly what she needed to learn to get good results in her exams.”

Gretchen’s mother Edie, January 2016
Year 13, Physics

“Hello Melanie,

Thank you for your email and for the great tutorials you provide. I have improved a lot in the sciences because the extra help I received over the years. I had very excellent tutors, it was worth the price and I am happy I found AHeadStart.

Once again thank you!”

Ariam, January 2016
Year 13, Chemistry, Physics, Statistics

"Thank you so much for everything this year. 

Emma has been an amazing help for Neve throughout the year. Patient and engaging and excellent and breaking everything down for her. Her results are really great across her subjects and physics and maths teachers have noted a big improvement in her test performance."

Neve's mother Mairin, November 2025
Year 12 Mathematics & Physics

“AHeadStart tutoring was great for my son as he did not have the confidence to ask questions in class, whereas with individual tutoring he could go over what he did not understand and gained confidence.

Thanks for your great service which we have recommended to others.”

Harry’s mother Judith, January 2016
Year 11, Science

"A big thank you to Chloe for her support. She has been amazing. Jennifer has only had nice and positive things to say about Chloe the whole year. Jennifer has enjoyed her sessions with Chloe and has found her style of tutoring so beneficial. Jennifer wouldn't be where she is today without her."

Jennifer’s mother Nicola, November 2012
Year 13, Chemistry

"Hi Melanie, just thought I’d let you know how I went. I passed my exam which is great so I get to continue onto biochem now. Thank you so much for all your help!"

Olivia, July 2015
Human Nutrition, Chemistry

"Thanks for your email. Yes [Markus] said it was good (high praise from a teen!)
He said Kopila was helpful so please pass on my thanks to her and we will see her next week."

Markus' mother Sarah, March 2024
Year 12, Biology and Physics

"Robyn and I have no doubt that Bevan's help was essential.  I don't think Matthew ever reached "confident" but he did get back on top of the work and felt he did ok in the exams. Cambridge Maths at that level is tough obviously, Matt is smart and his class is full of smart boys, he tells us a significant number have fallen by the wayside blown away by the complexity and workload. We are grateful to Bevan for his patience, good humor and excellent tutoring."

Matt’s mother Robyn, June 2012
Year 11, Level 1 Mathematics

"My tutor was very helpful and went the extra mile by giving [me] lots of exam papers. I passed all my unit standards and internals - the ones I failed before I started tutoring. It was nice how everything was taught step by step. I had more understanding and wasn't rushed. Thanks."

Nastassja Schoeman, December 2008

Year 13, Level 3 Calculus

“Hi Melanie.

I met Sam when I dropped Angus off tonight. What a lovely young man. He seems to be prepared and very on to it.

He will text a review of the session tomorrow so we can be able to know how it all went.

We are very impressed and happy with the calibre of the tutors we have become involved with.

Thank you.

Keep in touch :-)

Cheers and thanks, Wendy.”

Angus’s mother Wendy, September 2016
Year 11, Economics & Mathematics

"We would just like to let you know that things went really well with Hannah’s first visit today. Lucy was really chuffed about how much she had learned and Hannah is a lovely girl and obviously very patient!

We are feeling very confident that this is the beginning of a huge improvement in Lucy’s understanding of maths and we are lucky to have someone like Hannah to help her."

Lucy’s mother Sarah, July 2012
Year 5, Mathematics

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.