Tom Daley – A coming out story

Tom Daley• Tom Daley is 19 years old.• He is a diver and TV

personality.

• He has made an impact in national and international competitions from the age of 9.

• He won two gold medals for England in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

• He won the bronze medal in the 2012 Olympic Games.

Tom Daley• Following on from his success

in the Olympic Games, Tom accepted a role on the new celebrity diving reality TV show Splash! The programme started in January 2013.

• In May 2011, Tom’s father, Robert died from a brain tumour.

• In December 2013, Tom had the following message for his fans…

Tom Daley: Something I want to say

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJwJnoB9EKw

Did you listen to what he said?1. Why do you think Tom describes the last few years as a rollercoaster? (give two

or three reasons)2. Tom says that he finds it hard to talk about important things in his life, what

examples does he provide?3. What led him to make this video for his fans now?4. How does Tom describe realising that he was in love for the first time?5. What does he say about the reaction of his family?6. What are Tom’s hopes for the future?7. How do you think Tom felt before he released the video? Why? What are the

positive and negatives effects it could have had?8. Have you ever had to tell someone close to you something important? How did

you prepare? Would you do anything differently if you had the chance to do it again?

9. What do you think are the best ways to support someone who is coming out? How would you react?

To finish:

Make a quick life graph on some rough paper about the last few years of Tom’s life.

• His age goes on the x axis.• His mood on the y axis.

Add on in pairs the many events of the last few years. Consider carefully where you would put things.