I went solo at 17 years of age (only just) after 7 hours, to a syllabus. As far as being able to cope with emergencies, it was a long time ago but I do remember being given many engine failures to deal with before being let loose.
My instructor, the late Cliff Barnett, just unexpectedly said: "Right, I'm getting out here - off you go and just see how much better it climbs with only you in the cockpit".
So I did.
An aquaintance, now in his late 70s (possibly older) rebuilt a Jodel at the age of 15 and taught himself to fly. Literally, his first solo was his first flight, although he had done a few runway hops before that.