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 very much for your support in finding a tutor for Rebecca. Rebecca is off to study Law and International Relations in Wellington next year and she is fortunate to have been granted a $10,000 excellence scholarship to attend. The success of which is in part due to the tutoring assistance she has received.

We have really appreciated the friendly yet professional way you run your business and Rebecca has found both her tutors to be very good. We were introduced to AHeadStart through word of mouth and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend AHeadStart to others."

Rebecca’s mother Noreen, November 2012
Year 13, Level 3 Calculus

"Neve loved Ruby as a tutor. Her friendly, calm demeanour made her feel confident and at ease. I have loved coming in and listening to them, laughing away and engaging in some wonderful discussions and learning. She will be missed."

Neve's mother Kate, October 2024
Year 10, English & Mathematics

“Hi Melanie,

I thought that it was very easy to get along with Lauren, we started doing a bit with essay structure and it was easy to understand because she would go over each step specifically. I think she knows what I want to learn out of these tutor lessons and how she can help me using different methods and small steps to get through it. She seems very knowledgeable so I think it will be good for me to learn of her.

Kind Regards, Alida.”

Alida, August 2016
Year 11, English

"Jed’s feedback was very positive and he definitely thinks tutoring will be useful, he obviously liked Max. Martin said he drove Max a bit mad with his questions but it sounds like Max managed that well!"

Jed’s mother Lesley, September 2014
Year 11, Science

“Jade was rapt with her first lesson with Amelia, thanks soooo much.”

Jade’s mother Sherie, September 2015
Year 11, Mathematics

“We would like to thank you and Jackson for the tuition provided over the last 2 years. You have provided a well organised, friendly and cost effective service and Jackson has been amazing with how well he works with Luke.

Regards, Glenda O'Neill”

Luke’s mother Glenda, October 2016
Year 13 Biology, Chemistry & Physics

"Melanie has fantastic communication skills. She was able to break down difficult concepts and show the connection to other areas in my paper. Thanks again Melanie."

Rachel Filipov, July 2009
Level 100 Statistics

“Thanks Mel,

The only feedback I have is that Josh told me yesterday “if Max tutored me every day I would be a genius!”

Cheers, Cate.”

Josh’s mother Cate, June 2016
Year 13, Calculus

"Bryn found the tutoring good and valuable and liked Jonathan's style. "

Bryn's father Regan, March 2025
Year 13, Calculus, Physics & Statistics

“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

“Melanie showed me how to make better study notes and work more efficiently and how to answer questions.
Before tutoring I would not have passed my exam, I was struggling so much with the understanding of the subject. My tutor broke down the subject into small bits and we worked on them until I understood each bit and she made sure I could do the question on my own.
AHeadStart have helped me heaps with chemistry without them I would not have been able to be on the road to completing my degree.”

Olivia, January 2016
Human Nutrition, Chemistry

"Brittany said thank you, he was very helpful, and if she ever needed help with chemistry in the future she would definitely get in contact with AHeadStart Tuition."

Brittany’s mother Jennifer, May 2014
Year 12, Chemistry

“Thank you Melanie. The tuition has given Sarah a lot of confidence and the service was excellent, reliable etc. Sarah was well suited to Liam's style of help. We understand he is overseas next year but we would appreciate it if you could think who else in your team has a style similar to Liam for next year.”

Sarah’s mother Joanna, November 2015
Year 12, Chemistry

“Thanks so much for the wonderful service to Emerson- we have been very impressed. And Emerson really enjoyed being tutored by Jackson.”

Emerson’s mother Tracey, November 2015
Year 13, Biology & Chemistry

"Hey Melanie I got excellence in level three with 63 e credits. Thanks for everything. Stats was really good with all e’s apart from confidence intervals but I am stoked. For everything else I got endorsed with merit. Overall it’s excellence though. Yay :)"

Shalini, January 2012
Year 13, Biology, Chemistry, Physics & Statistics

"Thanks once again. Tom found the tutorials from Daniel very helpful. Tom was very impressed with Daniel. He says he was really engaging. Just a fantastic teacher. Wow, really high praise from my son. I think you run a great business.”

Tom’s mother Leanne, December 2014
Year 13, Chemistry & Economics

"Alexander was thrilled with his session with Bailey.  Solved a lot of riddles!"

Alexander's mother Cecilia, April 2025
Year 13, Calculus

“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

“I feel Anna achieved all her objectives and irrespective of the results, I witnessed a child 'grow' in so many aspects other than just learning the subjects. Her confidence took in a different level which was profound and was evident in all areas; not just the areas being tutored.”

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

“Ruby wanted to achieve a good result in accounting as she was struggling with low achieved or not achieved scores.
In her NCEA Lvl 1 externals she got 2 merits and 1 excellence. Joe was amazing and in 10 weeks she learnt more than a whole year in the class room.

Her maths was always good but needed help with the end of year subject. She achieved Merits and got Maths Lvl 1 endorsed in Merit."

Ruby’s mother Keryn, January 2014
Year 11, Accounting & Mathematics

"Kia ora Melanie

Thank you so much to you and Ariana's tutors that she's had over the years. Hard to believe yesterday was her last session. 

We're both very proud of Ariana's commitment and effort towards her studies."

Ariana's mother Sam, November 2025
Year 13 Physics

“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

“Melanie has given my daughter more confidence in her own abilities and she is more positive and engaged in her maths. I highly recommend this to anyone who feels their child needs a boost in a subject.”

Emma’s mother Karen, January 2016
Year 11, Mathematics & Science

"Vincent us very happy with Sophie. 

I would like to let you know that Vincent got a certificate on school today. He got certificate because his reading improved.

Thank you very much."

Vincent's mother Zsuzsanna, May 2025
Year 5, English

"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

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.