Kai's joke is top of the class for Holyrood competition

Kai Allett, who is in Primary Three at Tannadice Primary School, has been crowned the winner of Angus’s regional heat in the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists’ (RCSLT) VoiceBox competition – a national joke-telling contest celebrating the power of communication.

Kai will now head to the Grand Final at the Scottish Parliament on June 5, where 32 of Scotland’s funniest primary school pupils – one from each local authority – will compete for the title of VoiceBox Champion 2025.

Kai’s joke which earned a place in the final, was: “I asked my sister to throw a dart at a map of the world and wherever it lands we are spending two weeks on vacation – turns out we are spending two weeks behind the fridge!”

The event will be hosted by the Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP, Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, with Zara Janjua, BBC journalist and stand-up comedian, as compère. Now in its second year, VoiceBox launched on ‘Blue Monday’ in January.

Since then, schools have been submitting their funniest entries in a joyful celebration of confidence, creativity and communication.

Kai has already secured £100 worth of Collins Big Cat books for his school, and is in the running for the top prizes of £500 of books for the winning school, £200 of books for second and third place and a £100 toy gift card for the top three finalists.

Glenn Carter, head of RCSLT Scotland, said: “Speech, language and communication, skills are the foundation for learning, social connection, mental well-being and future employment. Yet too many children still struggle without the support they need, often going unnoticed.

“Competitions like VoiceBox show how powerful a child’s voice can be when given a platform and why it’s so important that we continue to invest in speech and language therapy to support children’s communication.

“These children aren’t just telling jokes. They’re showing how the ability to communicate can positively impact confidence, creativity and connection.”