London Academy won three titles and Charles Read Academy two at the Butterfly School Team Championships in Wolverhampton.

There was also success for Fox Primary School, Chellaston Academy and Grantham College as the top schools in the country were decided.

Photos by Alan Man

Under-11 Girls
Under-11 champions with Table Tennis England Director of Development, Andy Wilesmith (left) and Butterfly ambassador Alan Cooke

London Academy successfully defended the Martin Foulser Cup as they overcame White Bridge Primary from Loughton, Bankfields Primary, Middlesborough, and Fox Primary from Kensington & Chelsea.

They began with a 7-0 win over White Bridge, not dropping a game, and then defeated Bankfields 7-0, though Alexia Ciobanica had to dig deep to beat Mindy Gao 3-2 (10-12, 11-5, 3-11, 11-8, 11-8).

Fox Primary meanwhile overcame Bankfields 6-1 and White Bridge 7-0 to set up the final decisive match against the Academy.

And the Academy made a fast start, winning the first four matches to make sure they could not be caught, though Fox did come back to make the final score 5-2.

The winning squad was Serene Rahmani-Walentynska, Ruby Gandi Bamidele, Naomi Adjei and Alexia Ciobanica.

Bankfields beat White Bridge 6-1 to claim third place, though they did go 1-0 down as Noella Schroder did well to beat Mila Gao 3-2 (12-10, 4-11, 6-11, 15-13, 12-10).

Under-11 Boys
The winning Fox Academy squad

Fox Primary beat London Academy 5-3 in dramatic fashion to seal the Irene Elliott Cup and consign their rivals to second place.

Fox took the lead twice but saw the Academy hit back to level and then lead 3-2. Leo Sahmurov then hauled Fox level with a 3-2 (6-11, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-3) comeback victory over Rafael Hanzel-Wacker and Zachary Feinberg put them back in front with a 3-0 (14-12, 11-9, 11-2) win over Dominic Rimmy.

The decider went down to the wire and it was Yusuf Elnur who won it for Fox with a tense 3-2 (6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7) win over Nicolas Andrei.

As well as Feinberg, Sahmurov and Elnur, the winning squad included Nikolas Karavas, Alexander Lundgren and Odysseas Karaasev.

A Fox Primary celebration against London Academy

Earlier, London Academy started with a 6-2 win over Bedford Prep – Bedford led 1-0 when Quba Thomas beat Hanzel-Wacker in four and 2-1 when Sacha Ryan defeated Andrei 11-8 in the fifth.

Fox started with a 7-1 victory over Bricknell Primary School from Hull, for whom Harry Hodgson picked up a notable win over Zachary Feinberg by a 3-2 (8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 13-15, 11-2) scoreline.

Fox then defeated Bedford Prep 7-1, while London Academy overcame Bricknell 6-2 – that match was 2-2 after River Holborn beat Andrei 3-2 (7-11, 11-8, 13-11, 7-11, 13-11) but Zacharia Sarri then beat Hodgson in five to make it 3-2 and set London Academy on their way to victory.

Third place had to be decided by sets countback as Bedford Prep and Bricknell finished locked together at 4-4. Beford were 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 ahead, but Oliver Tariq pulled it back to 4-3 by defeating Sacha Ryan and then, in a match which featured an astonishing third game, Eddie Ewart of Bricknell beat Gabe Stone 3-2 (4-11, 11-6, 29-27, 9-11, 11-7).

The countback was ultimately in favour of Bedford, though, as they clinched third.

Under-13 Girls
The winning London Academy squad

London Academy took the title in thrilling fashion as the destination of the Hartshill Cup went down to the final match.

Both LA and St Marylebone CE School won their first two matches and met in the decider. And although all the matches were decided in three straight, the overall match score went one way and then the other.

London Academy led 1-0 but trailed 2-1, then came back to lead 3-2. Zeina Negm levelled for St Marylebone to send it into a deciding match, which Assil Sarri won for the Academy against Eva Yared.

The winning squad also included Soraya Rahmani-Walentynska, Shriya Nimse and Inayah Zasella.

Third place was also decided by a 4-3 margin as Tudor Grange Academy beat Horizon Community College – Horizon, from Barnsley, took the lead but four victories in a row assured Solihull’s Tudor Grange of overall victory and third place, though Horizon won the final two matches.

Earlier, St Marylebone beat Tudor Grange 5-2 and Horizon 7-0, while London Academy overcame Horizon 6-1 and Tudor Grange 5-2.

Tudor Grange’s Charlotte Wong won all four points for Tudor Grange across those two matches, including beating St Marylebone’s Negm and Nour Alamine in five games, and coming from 2-0 down to defeat Rahmani-Walentynska.

Under-13 Boys
London Academy’s under-13 boys

London Academy’s third title of the day was in the under-13 boys as the squad of Yacoub Rahmani-Walentynska, Adam Riadi, Connor Godley, Stefan Pop and Lewis Macsween won both their matches in the three-team competition for the T Austin Harrison Cup.

London Academy started by defeating The Blue Coat School from Liverpool 8-0, with no games dropped.

Blue Coat then beat King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, from Birmingham, 5-3 – they never behind and led 5-1 but match 4 was a notable 3-2 (6-11, 11-5, 4-11, 11-6, 14-12) win for Ollie Yu over Ayaan Pathania and a pivotal result.

London Academy then met King Edward and it was a title-winning 6-2 scoreline for the team from North London. They went 2-0 up but Pathania pulled one back by beating Lewis Macsween. The Academy pulled out to 6-1 but Jeffrey Wang had the last word for King Edward with a notable 3-2 (14-12, 13-15, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8) victory over Macsween.

Under-16 Girls
Charles Read Girls

Charles Read Academy wrested the Mick Betts Memorial Cup away from holders London Academy as three matching 5-2 victories assured them of triumph.

The winning squad was Ella Pashley, Lowri Hurd and Emily Price and it was actually the first match of the day which proved crucial as they defeated the defending champions.

The other first round result saw St George’s Catholic School from Westminster beat Toot Hill 7-0 with no games dropped.

Charles Read followed up by defeating Toot Hill School from Nottingham 5-2, while London Academy beat St George’s 6-1 – though they trailed 1-0 when Jonabel Taguibao beat Mauli Shah 3-2 (4-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8).

Alisha Dutta put LA ahead when she defeated Jadeine Augustin 3-2 (11-1, 11-4, 11-13, 13-15, 11-9) and they never looked back. Dutta also had a notable win in the final match, 3-2 (21-19, 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8) against Luna Archard.

The final round saw Charles Read complete their title charge 5-2 against St George’s, while London Academy beat Toot Hill 7-0. St George’s finished third and Toot Hill fourth.

Under-16 Boys
Charles Read Academy boys

Charles Read Academy unseated holders London Academy to claim the Leach-Carrington Cup.

Isaac Kingham, Abraham Sellado, Ryan Holland and Tudor Eftinka combined to see off Devonport Hight School for Boys from Plymouth 8-0 and The King’s School Peterborough 7-1 in their first two matches.

London Academy meanwhile beat King’s 8-0, though Devan Shah was taken to five by William Wu (12-10, 11-6, 11-13, 11-13, 12-10) and also by Terry Zheng, and then overcame Devonport 5-3. Devonport took a 2-0 lead as twins Hugo and Leo Nguyen beat Fernando Frandes and Parsa Yamin respectively, and they also led 3-2 after Leo defeated Frandes. But three wins in a row took London Academy to the overall victory.

That set up the decider, which went the way of Charles Read by a 5-2 margin. It was 3-0 and 4-1 to Charles Read, but Yamin beat Holland in three to keep it interesting. However, Sellado’s win over Shahuraj Nimse in five gave Charles Read an unassailable lead, and the final match was not played.

King’s Peterborough clinched third placed with a 5-3 win over Devonport.

Under-19 Girls
The winning Chellaston Academy team

Chellaston Academy from Derbyshire were almost perfect in winning the Claud Kichenside Cup, winning all three matches 5-0 and only dropping two games all day.

Those two were actually in the same match – Connie Dumelow finally defeating Anna Piercey of Burnham Grammar School in Buckinghamshire 3-2 (11-6, 9-11, 11-2, 8-11, 11-6).

Otherwise, Dumelow and team-mate Millie Noble were immaculate as they saw off Burnham having previously defeated Royal Russell and Bradford Grammar.

Burnham took second place thanks to 4-1 victories over both Bradford and Royal Russell, while Bradford were third as they overcame Royal Russel, from Croydon, 4-1.

Under-19 Boys
The Grantham College line-up

Grantham College successfully defended the Norman Cook Cup with very few alarms.

The only match they lost all day was in their first fixture, against John Hampden Grammar from High Wycombe, who got on the board courtesy of Will Saint beating Adam Dennison 3-2 (14-12, 6-11, 3-11, 11-9, 11-9) to make it 1-1.

Grantham pulled away from there to win 7-1, and followed up with an 8-0 win over Tudor Grange Academy from Solihull, without dropping a game.

The squad of Toby Ellis, Adam Dennison, Joseph Dennison, Gabriel Schogger and Alex Henry completed their winning campaign with an 8-0 victory over Wallington County Grammar from Sutton, dropping only two games.

Wallington finished second having overcome Tudor Grange, who three times pegged back their opponents before wins for Jacob Archer and Ojasvii Borah clinched it 5-3. Wallington then beat John Hampden 6-2, in which Saint had another good five-set win, against Archer.

John Hampden finished third as they defeated Tudor Grange 6-2. They led 2-0 and 4-1, as Saint completed a good personal weekend with two more wins. Rex Ho made them wait for victory as he defeated Nick Carter, but wins for Jamie Woodford and Jake Butterfield completed the 6-2 scoreline in favour of John Hampden.