Organised by the Right Start Foundation International, the competition tests participants’ ability to memorise the holy Qur’an and demonstrate the quality of their recitation. Together with another competitor, Mr Alhawig scored 100% and was placed second out of 1200 participants from all over the UK, netting him a cash prize and acclaim from the judges.

This is the latest success for Mr Alahwig who has won many national Qur’an competitions in his native country, Libya and came second in a field of entrants from 49 countries in the 2001 in the King Abdulaziz International Qur’an competition in Mecca, in which 49 countries were represented and 205 participants took part.

Mr Alahwig who has been teaching GCSE Arabic at Downe House for the past two years alongside studying International Law at the University of Surrey said,

I have been taking part in these competitions since I was 11 growing up in Libya and have represented my country many times. Studying Arabic and Law has helped me to develop my presentation skills as well as my motivation, confidence and public speaking skills – I think that this played a major part in my success in the competition.