At six many children struggle to string a sentence together. And the thought of speaking to a crowded room would give most of them the shivers.
But that was not the case for prodigy Rayyan Khan who has trounced pupils, some more than twice his age, to win a public speaking competition.
Rayyan, who attends St Joseph’s Primary in Dundee, received honours a score of more than 90 points for both his poetry recital and public speaking at the Festival of the Spoken Word.
“He was absolutely remarkable,” said Liz Glenn, Rayyan’s tutor and principal of the Communications and Performance Examinations charity, which staged the competition.
“His confidence and his ability to hold a room were outstanding.
“It is very unusual that, at that age, he could captivate a whole audience. That is the most important thing, and he did it incredibly well.
“Nearly all of the children showed demonstrable confidence but Rayyan stuck out for his ability to face the fear of speaking to a large audience,” she added.
Rayyan’s father, Rafi, said that he had “no doubt” his son would succeed at the competition.
“Rayyan picks up things incredibly quickly,” said Mr Khan. “I watched the competition for the whole day. But I never had any doubt in my mind about his chances. He is very professional in his speaking.”
Rayyan’s mother, Mariyam, agreed.
“It was all about the preparation. His tutor, Liz Glenn, was incredibly helpful in teaching him how to look at an audience and project his speech.
“The amount of confidence winning a competition like this brings is incredibly helpful.”
Rayyan recited the poem In the Dark, Dark Woods at the competition, which took place at Fowlis Church, outside Dundee.
His public speaking topic was Dundee, the river Tay and the Law.
He also scored highly in the storytelling section of the competition and, as overall winner, he was awarded the Courier Cup.