Schools’ competition pathway

Table Tennis England organises schools competitions under the title ‘English Schools Table Tennis’.

The competition pathway for schools in England is organised by Table Tennis England as part of its wider competition structure.

Under the title English Schools Table Tennis, there are two National Schools Competitions – one for teams and the other for individuals.

Fifty-one Schools County Associations affiliated to Table Tennis England hold qualifying events in their counties across England. The winners then represent their schools counties in the Butterfly National Schools Competitions.

These competitions build upon the outstanding work of the English Schools Table Tennis Association which for 50 years organised the above events until it merged with Table Tennis England in 2017 and then dissolved itself in 2018.

On the 29th April 2023 the Schools Committee met to review and revamp the Team competition along with the support of Table Tennis England. This was after people had the opportunity to give their views through a post-competition survey. There were a few reasons for this review, and we wanted to use this as an opportunity to address the following issues which we have seen and have been raised.


Butterfly National Schools Championships
Team Championships
Pathway: Borough Finals > County Finals > Area Finals > Semi Finals > National Finals

Entry fees are £33.50 per team

London

The 33 London Boroughs including the City of London (London Central, London, East, London North, London South, London West)

South East

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire & IoW, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex

South West

Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire

East

Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk

West

Birmingham, Black Country, Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire Warwickshire, Worcestershire

North East

Northumberland, Cleveland, Durham, Humber, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear, West Yorkshire

North West

Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside.

 Area Finals 

London:

(Date TBC) January 2025

Redbridge Sports Centre, Forest Road, Ilford, IG6 3HD

Tournament Organiser: Chris Cockburn

The 33 London Boroughs including the City of London (London Central, London, East, London North, London South, London West)

South East:

11th & 12th January 2025

Venue TBC

Tournament Organiser: To be confirmed.

Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire & IoW, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex

South West:

12th January 2025

Eggbuckland Community College, Westcott Cl, Egg Buckland, Plymouth, PL6 5YB

Tournament Organiser: Graham Pearson.

Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire

East:

11th & 12th January 2025

Highfield Table Tennis Club, 148 Highfield Road, Wellingborough, NN8 1PL

Tournament Organiser: To be confirmed.

Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk

West:

11th & 12th January 2025

Wood Green Academy, Wood Green Rd, Wednesbury, WS10 9QU

Tournament Organiser/s: To be confirmed.

Birmingham, Black Country, Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire Warwickshire, Worcestershire

North East:

11th & 12th January 2025

Bradford Grammar School, Keighley Rd, Bradford, BD9 4JP 

Tournament Organiser/s: Andrew Crabtree

Northumberland, Cleveland, Durham, Humber, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear, West Yorkshire

North West:

11th & 12th January 2025

St Bedes School, Green Lane, Blackburn, Lancashire, BB2 4SR

Tournament Organiser/s: Dave Pilkington

Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside.

Only Winners progress to the next round *Except London where both Winner and Runner-up progress to the next round. 

 

South

1st March 2025

Venue TBC

North

1st March 2025

Venue TBC

Winners at Semi Finals play at the Butterfly National Finals at WV Active Aldersley, Wolverhampton WV6 9NW on the 27th April 2025

Individual Championships
Pathway: Borough Finals > County Finals > National Finals

Entry fees are £29 per entry

Under 19/16/13/11 age groups for boys/girls

National Finals: WV Active Aldersley, Wolverhampton WV6 9NW on the 26th April 2025


Competition calendar

Details of the 2024/25 schedule will be published in due course, email us for further information.

Schools County Secretary

Each Schools County has a Secretary who is the first point of contact for your local competitions.


Selection criteria

Follow the link below to download a copy of the selection policy referring to schools international teams. NB: polices are kept under review and may be amended.

Representative teams are selected to play in:
  • The International School Sport Federation (ISF) biennial World Schools’ Table Tennis Championships (Under 17)
  • The Annual Schools’ Home Countries Invitation International Championships in Under 18/16/14 age groups
  • The British Primary Championships (Under 11)

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School Competition Resources

To access the scorecards for your competition please click the link provided – School Competition Resources. When on the page the team scorecards are up the sectioned labelled ‘National Schools’ Competition Resources’


Downloads