When actor Colin Firth movingly portrayed King George VI and his battle to overcome his stammer to speak in public, he won an Oscar for his efforts.
Musharaf speaking in front of his school pupils and teachers using headphones to reduce his stammer. He is thanking them for supporting him through school
Yesterday, teenager Musharaf Asghar was also being given the celebrity treatment at college after an equally emotional screen performance.
The 16-year-old’s triumphant real-life battle to conquer a severe speech impediment had TV viewers in tears during the final episode of the hit Channel 4 documentary Educating Yorkshire.
The fly-on-the-wall series — which placed 64 cameras around Thornhill Community Academy in Dewsbury, near Leeds — showed the GCSE pupil struggling hopelessly to get his words out, before his English teacher Matthew Burton used a technique he had seen in the Oscar-winning film The King’s Speech.
Wearing headphones with music playing in the background, ‘Mushy’ successfully read a poem to his class, which he had struggled to utter a word of previously.
It also enabled the pupil to make a ten‑minute speech that formed the oral part of his English GCSE.
He later used the same trick to make a speech in front of 200 people at his final school assembly, as tearful staff and friends gave him a standing ovation.
Both Musharaf, now 17, and his dedicated teacher were being hailed as an inspiration yesterday.
Musharaf still has a stammer, but estimates his speech has improved by 80 per cent following his teacher’s tip earlier this year.
The teenager, who had previously been the target of bullies, said: ‘It felt great to be able to speak out. People knew exactly what I was saying. Before, some people didn’t understand who I really was.’
The idea to make his leaving speech to all his Year 11 pupils came from two teachers, and Musharaf bravely accepted the challenge, delivering it with aplomb.
Musharaf has now discarded the headphones and his speech is improving all the time. Having achieved five C-grade GCSEs, he was able to start an applied science course at Huddersfield New College in September.
The son of a taxi driver hopes to study science at university and, thanks to Mr Burton, has ambitions to be a teacher.
Musharaf described his mentor as ‘perfect’ and said he was ‘amazing’ at his job.
Mr Burton was modestly playing down the plaudits yesterday and said he was ‘absolutely delighted’ for his former pupil.
He admitted being reduced to tears when he watched the programme, and said he had borrowed The King’s Speech DVD from his brother and decided to ‘give it a try’ to help Musharaf in class.
‘It gave him a real confidence boost, which he really needed,’ said Mr Burton. ‘I won’t forget that moment for the rest of my life.
‘He is such a high-quality young man, he has a wide circle of friends and is well‑respected. I’m delighted for him.’
