Parent Testimonials

"Hi Melanie. [Daniel] did a wonderful job last year, Sam passed Cambridge and got excellence in NCEA level 1."

Sam’s mother Jasmine, March 2014
Year 11, Mathematics & Science

“Just a note to let you know how thrilled Daisy is with her results for NCEA Level 1 … she attributes her success in no small part to Helena and her expert tuition, which gave her the confidence to believe in herself and  do so well. Thank you to you too for helping organise all this for us and for getting Helena to us. She not only achieved her 50 Excellence credits (which was her original goal for the year) but in fact exceeded 100 Excellence credits, which means she will be awarded with the top academic honour at St Margaret’s in the form of a red academic bar for surpassing 100 E’s. Only 12 girls achieved this last year in level 1 (there will be more this year as Daisy is in a very bright year group).  She achieved an Excellence endorsement for 4 subjects out of 6 … one of which was Physics which stunned and thrilled her. She was extremely close to getting Excellence endorsements in both Chemistry and Maths also … the algebra external which she failed in her mock exams at school she got an E for in the external.  When I reflect on how she was struggling with her confidence ..with confusion creeping in at around Easter last year when I first got in touch with you …to see her confidence and ability blossoming, the tutoring made all the difference and was worth every cent.”

Daisy’s mother Lorelei, January 2015
Year 11, Chemistry, Mathematics & Physics

“Lucie was struggling with minimal help at school, and would have got achieved at best with chem, but after tutoring got merit.
Lucie had a huge amount of extracurricular responsibility, and missed a lot of class time. Caitlin was very clear on re capping and making sure Lucie was absolutely certain in her answers."

Lucie’s mother Deb, January 2014
Year 13, Chemistry

"[We] previously used AHeadStart 1-2 years ago, finding Melanie extremely professional and approachable. The tutor involved was just wonderful and after only one session was able to recognise a key component which our daughter wasn't understanding in physics. She went from getting "not achieved" to "excellent" within a very short time."

Paris’ mother Hilary, January 2013
Year 13, Calculus & Physics

“Jake had a very positive opinion of his first tutorial. He did say that he liked the way Hayden explained things and they seemed to have a good rapport.

Thank you very much for your assistance and we are very confident that this arrangement will be very beneficial for Jake.”

Jacob’s mother Adele, April 2016
Year 13, Calculus & Physics

"Wow, that is really great! Jackson certainly seems to have the gift of being able to get the information across so that the pupil understands. It's all very well knowing something, but teaching it effectively to others is quite another thing.

Edie will be cross with me for telling you about the prize, but I thought that you'd both like to hear that your services were working very effectively!! For Edie physics has gone from being something of a mystery, to very interesting things which apply to all aspects of life and the world around her. She was accepted into Fine Arts at Canterbury yesterday, which she is thrilled about, as are we, as it sees her being in an environment where she will continue to grow and to learn, and to keep on loving learning! (And physics will be very useful applied to sculpture!)"

Edie’s mother Gretchen, November 2014
Year 13, Physics

"Hi Melanie – Just to let u know Caitlin passed NCEA Level 2 with merit endorsement. 2 merits in bio and merit endorsed in bio, chem merit and two achieved, 2 merits in English & 1 achieved. We r rapt! Thanks 2 u & Kelly. We will b back this year for more support."

Caitlin’s mother Karen, January 2013
Year 12, Biology & Chemistry

“Amelia was awesome! What a gem. Rosa had a very enjoyable and productive first session with her.

The bio exam went much better than expected and the tutoring helped a lot. Please pass on our thanks to Marwah.”

Rosa’s mother Sara, November 2015
Year 11, Mathematics & Science

"Thanks very much for this progress report. It is very comprehensive and much more thorough than a school report. She is performing much better than I have anticipated thanks to Molly’s support. Many thanks.

Charlotte looks forward to her sessions and was extremely pleased with her test result. The ability to go over the questions she found difficult was most worthwhile to her."

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

“Emma said her tutorial with Jackson was fantastic yesterday. Being dyslexic and a very visual learner his style of teaching really suited her. She came home feeling really positive.”

Emma’s mother Catriona, September 2015
Year 12, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics & Physics

“Many thanks to both of you for your assistance with his Physics and Calculus, we have noticed a massive turn around in both his grades and also his attitude towards both subjects.”

Kyran’s mother Janine, November 2015
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

"I hope Bevan passed message on that Matt made a huge improvement in Cambridge maths mid yr exam. 68%! He’s feeling good about it!"

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

“Thoroughly professional company, really fantastic tuition and we would very highly recommend AHeadStart. The best thing was that my daughter gained confidence in physics and seriously reduced her anxiety levels, which was a huge plus in a stressful Year 13.
We're glad that we found your company, we thought you were fantastic!”

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

"If you can pass on our thanks to Blake. He was a really great teacher to Jamy so yes, she is feeling not that stressed out about the upcoming exams."

Jamy’s mother Yolande, October 2013
Year 11, English

"Thanks for all the time you have spent with Nikki over the past few months. Nikki has so much more confidence now. Thanks for making such a huge difference."

Nikki’s mother Sharon, November 2010
Year 11, Chemistry & Physics

"Rachel became more and more confident after each lesson. The one-on-one tutoring helped her to build on the knowledge she had (or didn't have) and apply that to the exam questions."

Rachel’s mother Elizabeth, December 2009
Year 13, Level 3 Chemistry, Physics & Statistics

“Our daughter was home schooled and when she decided that she would like to do the qualifications that her friends were doing at school, we soon realized how behind she was, that was the reason I looked into a tutoring service. When I found AHeadStart they were just so helpful and helped us every step of the way.”

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

"Overview an excellent relaxed approach which should boost any student's learning. Thankyou for coming to our house and discussing this material with her ... see you next year. "

Amuri’s mother Jenny, December 2009
Year 12, Level 2 Physics

"Our daughter gained invaluable help from her AHeadStart tutors. After each lesson she came away feeling energised by the learning that she had done and she looked forward to the next lesson. She went into her final exams feeling confident that she had the knowledge to pass them."

Rachel’s mother Elizabeth, December 2009
Year 13, Level 3 Chemistry, Physics & Statistics

“Samuel came away with excellence in both subjects. He may have achieved this by himself in maths, however I believe your tuition in Science made a big difference. This is one of the weaker faculty’s at Kaiapoi and the extra tuition meant all areas of the syllabus were covered."

Samuel’s mother Jasmine, January 2014
Year 11, Mathematics & Science

"The session went really well thanks. Molly said Cameron was great answering her questions and that he communicated really well the answers. She said it was very helpful"

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