Parent Testimonials

“[Mikayla] saw her Maths teacher yesterday and he was saying to her that he can’t believe how much more improved Mikayla is this year with her books of work that she is turning in. Even though James and Mikayla only meet 1 hour each week, James has just made such a difference to her in helping her understand but also helping her do different equations that she is learning with approaching them with easier ways that what her books are teaching her. I have even noticed at home she is working through her books so much faster because she is actually having more of an understanding of what she is doing.

I would like to also say a huge thankyou to you and James for really sticking with Mikayla and helping her have confidence in what she is trying to do as last year she struggled to try and catch up but James just seemed to the right person to have incredible patience with her, Mikayla said she laughs sometimes because she sees him taking a few headache pills before the odd lesson. Ha ha. But again thanks for the reports and for James great teaching skills, hopefully Mikayla can keep up and keep remembering the skills that James is teaching her.”

Mikayla’s mother Leeann, May 2015
Year 12, Mathematics

“Had found Kip McGrath OK when children were younger, but not the specialists available for years 12 and 13 in science.”

Tom’s mother Josie, June 2015
Year 12, Mathematics & Physics

"Nick has thoroughly enjoyed his tutor Daniel and learnt plenty. It was well worth the time and effort. Please pass onto Daniel our gratitude. Thanks for your services."

Nick’s mother Anthea, November 2014
Year 13, Physics

"A very quick note to thank you and Jason for the great experience Campbell had with his first tutoring lesson. He was absolutely delighted with what was covered and the ease in which he grasped concepts previously misunderstood. I have not heard him as animated and enthusiastic as he was when we spoke last night for several years."

Campbell's mother Jill, July 2010
Year 13, Level 3 Mathematics with Calculus

"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

"Sophie I'm sure has gained a good deal from her tutorials, even if just increased confidence in her abilities. Helena was a good match for her and very flexible with times etc."

Sophie’s mother Kirstie, November 2014
Year 11, Mathematics

“Thanks again to Max for his wonderful tutoring. Alex was excellence endorsed for stats. Please book him in again for this year. I think it would be very worthwhile to have his guidance.”

Alex’s mother Sandra, January 2015
Year 12, Mathematics

"Thank you so much for the Progress Report. We are really pleased with Blake and the progress Spike is making. It’s been excellent timing for him at school to keep up with the work and make him aware of looking into the future."

Spike’s mother Di, October 2013
Year 11, English

"Thanks so much for the progress report. I am thrilled with the progress Harry has made in this area. He seems much more confident when doing his English homework. He also can now see the benefits from this extra tuition with his results at school."

Harry’s mother Jane, May 2012
Year 11, Level 1 English

"Thanks to Melanie & John for your very professional approach to tuition. You provide lots of information & resources which made the whole process easy & accessible. Thank you. "

Alice’s mother Robyn, December 2009
Year 12, Level 2 Physics

“[Tuition] helped [my son] identify what was important and focus on areas of weakness. He is really committed to sport and so felt that it made really effective use of his study time rather than scrambling through. He loved that it was one on one.”

Tom’s mother Kim, January 2016
Year 11, Science

“Thanks to you and Sean for the very comprehensive report- we are so pleased with his progress.  George really likes Sean and responds well to his style of teaching.

George said to me yesterday that he now enjoys maths which is great and a big change from before beginning Sean's tutorials.”

George’s mother Justine, July 2015
Year 7, Mathematics

“We have been very pleased with the effort Blake and Lethan have put in for Matt. Both he, Pete and I appreciate their efforts very much.”

Matt’s mother Cate, December 2015
Year 13, Level 3 English, Geography, History

“Just a note to thank you very much for all your help with supporting Daisy via Helena again this year. Daisy’s confidence and love of science due to Helena’s expert and engaging tuition has blossomed. From the Year 10 girl I called you about two years ago, starting to lose her understanding of concepts and needing support, to the confident Excellence level student we have now, has been a transformation. Daisy has always loved science and that love has grown ten-fold in the past two years. She managed to gain 100% Excellences in all her internals this year… not just for her 3 sciences but in all 6 subjects and is already way past the 50 Excellence credits needed for her Level 2 Excellence endorsement, and only 6 credits shy of gaining her second Gold Bar at St Margaret’s (70 E credits).

Many thanks once more. Please tell Helena that Daisy will be in touch with her when she gets her results in January!”

Daisy’s mother Lorelei, December 2015
Year 12, Level 2 Chemistry, Mathematics & Physics

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you SO much for all your help and support over the years – you have made an amazing difference to Alex and I know she would have struggled without you. I think it would be lovely to keep in touch – I know Alex will really like that.

Thank you again – for your fabulous help."

Alex’s mother Catherine, December 2012
Year 13, Level 3 Biology, Calculus, Chemistry & Physics

“Thanks Melanie. Jack found Liam incredibly helpful. He got an excellence for the last internal so fingers crossed today. Jack also said his physics exam went well.”

Jack’s mother Tracey, November 2015
Year 12, Chemistry & Physics

“AHeadStart definitely provides a more professional and comprehensive service [than other tuition].”

Emmerson’s mother Tracey, January 2016
Year 13, Biology & Chemistry

“Michelle has been a fantastic tutor over the past 2 years. Thank you so very much for your wonderful service. I will highly recommend your company to anyone I come across that is looking for tutoring.”

Olivia’s mother Allison, May 2015
Year 11, Mathematics

"We believe that the programme has allowed Saphron to gain confidence in Maths, she now feels she has the ability to solve problems and understand the breakdown involved in finding solutions. She is starting to excel in the Classroom environment whereas before she would normally sit back and become somewhat lost. Well done Melanie you have an ability to made Saphron comfortable, which has meant that she now has a desire to continue learning Maths."

Saphron’s father Mark, December 2008
Year 7, Mathematics

“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

“Jedd is dyslexic and needed assistance with implementing and understanding what he was learning at school.
Jedd's school report was excellent and he achieved "above the standard" results in many of the assessed areas which was impressive for Jedd!”

Jedd’s mother, January 2016
Year 10, English

“Charlie said it went really well & Josh was great - cool in fact!  He believes Josh has made a difference already! Thanks heaps.”

Charlie’s mother Jane, August 2015
Year 11, Mathematics

"Melanie had exactly the right approach to engage Elsie about Maths. We all enjoyed Wednesday nights - and Elsie made real progress. Her confidence and enjoyment of the subject improved and she got improved test results - having struggled to "get" maths all the way through High School."

Elsie’s mother Mary-Anne, December 2009
Year 12, Level 2 Mathematics