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 & Essex
The 33 London Boroughs including the City of London and Essex (London Central, London, East, London North, London South, London West, Essex)
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, 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:
Thursday 23rd January 2025
Redbridge Sports Centre, Forest Road, Ilford, IG6 3HD
Tournament Organiser: Chris Cockburn
The 33 London Boroughs including the City of London and Essex (London Central, London, East, London North, London South, London West, Essex)
South East:
11th (u11 & u13) & 12th (u16 & u19) January 2025
Waterside TTC, Testwood Sports College, Testwood Lane, Totton, Southampton, SO40 3ZW
Tournament Organiser: Carol Miles
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 (u11 & u13) & 12th (u16 & u19) January 2025
Highfield Table Tennis Club, 148 Highfield Road, Wellingborough, NN8 1PL
Tournament Organiser: Carol Miles (Paul Nichols and Sandra Deaton on site hosts)
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk
West:
11th (u11 & u13) & 12th (u16 & u19) January 2025
Wood Green Academy, Wood Green Rd, Wednesbury, WS10 9QU
Tournament Organiser/s: Kate Hughes (Saturday) and Helen Lower (Sunday)
Birmingham, Black Country, Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire Warwickshire, Worcestershire
North East:
11th (u11 & u13) & 12th (u16 & u19) 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:
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.
East
Friday 28th February 2025
Grantham Meres Leisure Centre, Trent Rd, Grantham, NG31 7XQ
West
Saturday 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)
Latest schools news
School team goes one better to win Island tournament
The Isle of Wight Primary Schools Tournament was held on 27 November, with six schools participating at the Island’s Table Tennis Centre.
Time to nominate players to represent England Primary Schools
Nominations for the England Schools team to compete at the Primary Schools International in Wales next year are now open.
Jack Petchey Foundation Table Tennis Programme open for 2024
The partnership between Table Tennis England and the Jack Petchey Foundation is set to continue into its 14th year and is now open to applications!
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’
