DofE Success – Gold Award Achievement – Oliver Trumble

Over the last 3-4 years, Oliver has spent much of his own time volunteering for Thurlby Tigers Football Club helping to train younger team members, specifically in goalkeeping. During this time, he developed his own coaching skills and become an incredible asset and wellrespected member of the coaching team. For Oliver’s Gold volunteering, he has spent the last 12 months helping at the Don’t Lose Hope Café turning his hand to almost all tasks required to help run the café and serve customers. Additionally, he has spent time volunteering at Scouts as a Young Leader and continues to give his time to the local community.

Throughout the 3 Award levels Oliver has developed his football skills and swimming endurance, coupled with additional sessions at the gym to ensure he improved his fitness. To meet his Skills section requirements, Oliver has learned how to cook and play the piano, advancing to Grade 4 during his Gold Award commitment.

During the Easter break Oliver took part in the Gold Practice expedition in the Yorkshire Dales followed by the Qualifying expedition in the Lake District in July 2025. Though the Easter weather was perfect for hiking, the July weather was testing, and Oliver and his team had to dig deep to maintain morale, battling persistent rain which tested them all both mentally and physically. But they overcame the difficulties, and Oliver was instrumental in keeping them all on track with skilful navigation.

Oliver’s Residential experience saw him endure wet weather again as he spent a week in the Peak District moorland, climbing and caving, sharing new experiences with new friends. Here he revelled in meeting new people, working together to achieve their goals undertaking challenging activities.

It has been a pleasure to support Oliver through his DofE Award levels and I hope he has enjoyed the experiences, recognises his accomplishments and is very proud of what he has achieved. I hope Oliver has a wonderful day at Buckingham Palace when the Celebration Day comes around. Well done and best wishes from the Dof E Team.