Alston Learning Academy
A (summer) that changes everything
A global learning studio for driven young people and their families who want to build real skills, follow what lights them up, and grow alongside mentors who connect deeply with them.
Delivered online, while always connected to life beyond the screen.
We've found people learn best when it's connected to what lights them up.
We support academic progress in English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities and the Arts, while helping young people learn how to learn, develop focus, motivation, confidence and purpose.
Drawing on the science of learning, we use different ways of teaching, from auditory and visual learning to embodied, playful and creative approaches, including creative arts, animal-assisted learning and real-life experiences.
We also bring an entrepreneurial mindset into learning, helping young people develop the imagination, initiative, problem-solving and agency to see themselves not simply as consumers of information, but as potential creators and world-builders within it.
Learning doesn’t happen in isolation. We bring students’ everyday lives, families, interests, challenges, siblings and even pets into the learning process, creating a connected system around the young person.
For all students, with particular expertise in supporting neurodivergent and gifted young people.
Term 4 enrolments now open · School Holiday Intensives coming soon
Apply for Term 4
Think Bold. Feel Alive. Learn Like You.
HOW WE TEACH
Most tutoring aims for one thing: catch up to grade level. Alston aims for something bigger.
Academic progress, sure — plus how to learn, how to focus, how to stay motivated when it's hard. We teach through movement, play, sound, story and image. We build mindset, creative thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, and purpose. Sessions can start with a subject, or with a big game, a speech, a friendship, a moment that actually matters that week.
Many ways of learning
Every young person takes in the world a little differently — some through movement, some through story, some through, game sound or image. We pay attention to that, and shape each session around it: creative arts, animal-assisted learning, hands-on and embodied teaching — all shaped around the individual student.
An intra/entrepreneurial mindset
We help young people build imagination, initiative, problem-solving and agency — the same qualities that make someone a creator and a world-builder. Skills and mindset like these are vital in any work context, whether they end up starting something of their own one day, or bringing that same drive and ownership into a company they join.
Learning connected to life
Learning happens through collaboration, co-creation and connection. We bring students' everyday lives, families, interests, challenges, siblings and even pets into the process — building a connected system around the young person. That same web of connection is what prepares them to navigate whatever situations life puts in front of them next.
Beyond the screen
Sessions are run online. And we're always looking for ways to take it further — into nature, science labs, work experience, volunteering, time with animals and real people. The years ahead will call for skills built through real experience, out in the world.
Everyone is welcome here, students and families, alike
Every young person learns differently — how they focus, what motivates them, what actually sticks. Alston starts there, whatever that looks like for your child, including real depth of experience with neurodivergent and gifted young people, diagnosed or not.
We see a young person's progress as part of a wider system of support — this is why we include a program for parents too, teaching our methodology so it becomes embedded in your family's everyday, day–to–day.
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Australian Curriculum, UK National Curriculum & US state standards
Real academic depth, across English, maths, science, humanities and the arts — delivered in a way that is fun, interactive, and makes sense beyond the classroom.
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Building inner capacity
A session doesn't have to start with a subject. It can start with what's actually in front of them — working on mindset before a big game, building confidence ahead of a speech, or finding their footing in the playground.
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Middle through high school and beyond
We don't sort by birth year. We meet a young person at the stage they're actually at — cognitively, socially, emotionally — with a particular focus on the middle and high school years, when the right approach matters most."
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1:1 , Group, Online Globally
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Our methodology, embedded at home
We also bring in specialist educators across:
Art & Design
Music & Songwriting
Video game design
Entrepreneurship
AI & coding
Sports mentoring
Leadership
Animal-assisted learning
Public speaking & debate
Writing & storytelling
Wellbeing & mindfulness
Chess & strategy games
Financial Literacy
Every young person learns differently
The Goal
It sounds simple. In practice, it changes almost everything about how a session runs — from what we're aiming for, to who's teaching, to where learning happens.
Tutoring 1.0
Catch up to grade level
The Method
Academic progress, plus how to learn, focus and stay motivated
One fixed curriculum
The Evidence
One method suits all
Who teaches
Experienced tutors
Coaches matched to your child, with particular expertise in neurodivergent and gifted learners
How we learn
A screen, and nothing else
Screens, nature, animals, music, multi-media, culture, humour and real-life experience, woven into every session
The parents role
Manage homework & reports
Tutoring 2.0
Auditory, visual, embodied, playful & creative teaching, matched to the learner’s vibe
Built on research into embodied, play-based teaching — deeper engagement, longer retention.
A program of their own, learning our methodology so it carries on at home and is embedded in family life
