How a volunteer-led charity turned classroom stories into 72 printed books and seeks a permanent creative hub
Super Power Agency has spent ten years delivering hands-on creative writing courses in primary and secondary schools across Edinburgh and Glasgow, focusing on neighbourhoods that face economic hardship. Operating through short, intensive programmes, the charity mobilises PVG-certified volunteers to work alongside teachers and pupils, turning classroom exercises into professionally produced books.
The model is simple but deliberate: sustained attention to storytelling and a public outcome—a printed volume—creates measurable boosts in confidence and writing skills.
That steady approach has yielded striking results. The charity has overseen the publication of 72 books produced by children, a tally that appears unique internationally for work authored by pupils.
Last year alone the programme reached 1,520 pupils across 26 primary and secondary schools, with 91% reporting that they enjoyed writing more after taking part. The organisation runs eight-week blocks in-school, plus short free courses in the summer, and despite being run by a small staff of four, it sustains wide volunteer involvement and local partnerships.
Origins and operating model
The charity traces its inspiration to an American network known for pairing writing workshops with imaginative shopfronts—think a pirate supply store or a Time Travel Mart—an approach championed by 826 National. Scottish artist Maxine Sloss was impressed by that model and brought its founder to Edinburgh to help create something similar. The original plan included a Leith creative hub, but limited resources redirected efforts into an intensive schools programme. That decision prioritised reach: delivering in-class support where teachers might struggle to give each pupil individual attention.
Volunteer training and classroom practice
Volunteers are central to the model. They are PVG-certified adults who receive training in facilitation and safeguarding before working with groups of up to 30 pupils. Sessions focus on character, plot and descriptive craft, culminating in a professionally produced book with ISBN registration and library indexing. The tangible final product serves as both a learning outcome and an authentic motivator: pupils see their names in print, which in turn elevates self-belief and encourages further reading and writing.
Challenges exposed by recent years
The pandemic and the changing patterns of media consumption have compounded existing inequalities. Staff at the charity report that many pupils now struggle with attention to long-form narratives and the conventional arc of a story—introduction, development and resolution—because their cultural diet is dominated by short-form videos and vlogs. Teachers also face pressure from rising anxiety levels and the swelling numbers in school well-being hubs, while attendance figures highlight the scale of the problem: more than 73,000 pupils have attendance below 50%, and over 6,000 never attend school at all. Disturbingly, a quarter of children leaving primary school are assessed as unable to read a simple sentence.
Content changes and behavioural signs
Facilitators note shifts in what pupils write: scenes of violence are more common now than before. A guideline used in earlier years—to avoid stories in which characters die—proved impossible to maintain as darker themes became more frequent. Educators link this trend to the media children consume, and they see it as symptomatic of broader disengagement from traditional literacy forms. These shifts make the charity’s work more urgent but also more difficult: reintroducing long-form storytelling and emotional nuance takes consistent practice and patient mentoring.
Ambitions and the case for a creative hub
The team behind the charity wants a permanent creative centre in Leith or a nearby site where 8-to-18-year-olds can access resources after school and at weekends—a place for playwriting, workshops and staged performances. Similar charities in London and Dublin have dedicated venues that extend impact beyond short courses. For Super Power Agency, a hub would offer equitable access to arts education, create a visible focal point for young writers and expand summer and holiday provision that is currently oversubscribed.
Funding remains a barrier. Remarkably, neither the Scottish Government nor Creative Scotland has provided financial support to the charity since it began its schools programme a decade ago. Despite this, the organisation continues to operate through volunteer time, small staff capacity and local goodwill. Supporters who wish to contribute can donate via www.superpoweragency.com or send a cheque to Super Power Agency, RTW, 40 Constitution Street EH6 6RS. Sustained backing could enable both the continued in-school work and the long-held ambition of a dedicated creative centre, widening access to imaginative education for the children who need it most.
