About us

Three people smiling and making playful gestures in front of a bookshelf, with a woman in the middle wearing a yellow cardigan and floral shirt, and two men on either side with casual shirts and glasses.
Three people sitting at a floral tablecloth-covered table with laptops and notebooks, laughing and talking indoors.
A man with light brown hair and beard wearing a blue plaid shirt sitting at a dining table with a laptop in a colorful, cozy living room. The table has floral-patterned fabric and glasses on it. Behind him are pink walls, a mirror, a vase of pink tulips, a small lamp, and shelves with various items. A baby doll sits in a stroller against the wall.

We’re three friends with a shared love of words, stories, and getting young people excited about writing.

With over 50 years of teaching experience between us – two English teachers and a drama teacher – we’ve written and performed shows around the world, brought poetry and rap to life on stage, directed plays, assessed work for exam boards, developed curriculums, and created countless resources to inspire young writers.

A graphic illustration of a child standing on an open book, holding a glowing pen with lightning bolts coming from it, with the words 'Super Write Sparks' below.

Now, we’ve channelled that passion into Super Write Sparks - a fun, engaging and affordable platform where stories, ideas, and your students’ voices take centre stage.

We’re here to help students create writing that’s ready to be shared and celebrated.

We’d love you to join us.

Mark Grist

Mark is a poet, educator, and performer with over 80 million online views for his rap battles, poetry, and live‑streamed workshops. Mark starred in Channel 4’s Mr Drew’s School for Boys, has toured the world with his spoken word shows, taken seven productions to the Edinburgh Fringe, and even rap‑battled for Ice Cube (and won).

An award‑winning writer, he has published picture books with Bloomsbury and created live‑streamed workshops that inspired families to play creatively with words during lockdown.

When he’s not on the road, Mark can be found going on long dog walks, dreaming up new poems, or enjoying a game of Dungeons & Dragons.

A blonde woman smiling outdoors in front of brick buildings, dressed in a black leather jacket and black shirt.

Louise Double

Louise is an educator, examiner, and English specialist with over 20 years’ experience teaching English. As the founder of Lilac Education, Louise specialises in educational mentoring, one‑to‑one support, and exam masterclasses.

An experienced GCSE and A‑Level examiner and moderator, Louise has deep knowledge of specifications across a range of exam boards — and a genuine love for sharing that expertise with her students.

An avid reader of just about anything, from Shakespeare and the classics to the latest page‑turner, Louise knows the magic stories can hold and loves creating student-centred activities to encourage a love of reading and writing.

She’s also a huge fan of David Tennant.

Alan Wood

Prior to co-founding Super Write Sparks, Al was a Trust Director of Performing Arts, shaping music and drama across four schools and helping students bring stories to life. An award‑winning educator, Al has taken shows to the National Theatre, the Great Wall of China, and Barcelona’s La Rambla.

He’s a passionate storyteller, having written a number of plays, novels, and TV scripts, and created countless schemes of work that make learning exciting and accessible. He’s led students to win the National Connections Competition and numerous festivals.

Al’s three great passions are Shakespeare, Stephen King, and Crokinole (in any order).

Venn diagram with three overlapping circles labeled Performing & Engaging, Drama, Storytelling & Production, and Literacy, Precision & Mentorship.

Each of us brings a different strength to Super Write Sparks - together we want to get your students writing.

🌟 Mark covers the Performing & Engaging side — making words come alive with poetry, rap, and interactive workshops that build confidence and spark a love of language.

🌟 Al focuses on Drama, Storytelling & Production — shaping ideas into captivating performances, creating activities that breathe new life into texts.

🌟 Louise brings expertise in Literacy, Precision & Mentorship — with over 20 years as an educator, examiner, and moderator, helping us to hone our workshops in line with national expectations.

Year 5 Teacher

“Students who’d normally struggle produced unique and powerful poems that they felt very proud of. We can’t wait to share the work in assembly at the end of term.”

What do others say?

Year 7 Teacher

“I can’t say enough about how brilliant the session today was!! Thank you so much - the students and teachers are still buzzing. The students can’t believe they got a callout from Mark at the start of the session - everyone loved his energy!”

Year 4 Teacher

“Afterwards, one of our students asked he could be a poet as well as an astronaut when he grows up.
His parents said he asked them the same thing before bed.”