The Jack Petchey Foundation Table Tennis Programme is starting its 16th year, with new initiatives designed to further embed table tennis into everyday school life.
Applications are now open for the popular Table Donation Scheme. Teacher and youth-leader training, a Girls’ Festival and competitions – including a new development competition – also form part of this year’s programme.
Table Donation Scheme
The scheme offers the donation of indoor and outdoor table tennis tables together with equipment and electronic resource packs worth thousands of pounds.
Schools and youth clubs can apply for up to 4 table packages. The scheme has indoor and outdoor table packages. Indoor table packages are £85 each and outdoor table packages are £135 each.
The scheme is open to state secondary schools, colleges, academies and youth clubs in Essex and London (within the 33 London Boroughs) that are on the Jack Petchey Achievement Award Scheme.
Click here for more information, including how to make an application.
Competitions
The Jack Petchey London Schools’ Championships is a prestigious event aimed at increasing participation and awareness of table tennis in schools within London and Essex.
There are two championships each year – Individual and Team Championships – which are open to boys and girls at Under-11, 13, 16 & 19 age groups.
Qualifying tournaments are held in Essex and five areas of London – dates for the Team Championships qualifying events have now been set.
New for 2026/27, and aimed at getting new participants involved in table tennis, Development Competitions will have a participation focus and be designed to support player development as well as competitive play.
Click here for more information about all these competitions, inlcuding qualifying event dates.
Girls’ Festival
Table Tennis England will be running a Girls’ Festival across London and Essex to inspire more girls to take up table tennis during the 2026/27 season. The Festival will be led by local, passionate table tennis coaches dedicated to providing greater sporting opportunities for girls.
Information will be released in due course. If you have any questions about the Festival, please don’t hesitate to contact [email protected].
Teachers/Leaders Course
The Teachers/Leaders Course is designed to empower teachers and youth leaders to activate and sustain table tennis programmes within their schools and clubs.
There will be one course per term that will offer resources, strategies and practical skills to bring the sport to life for young people across London and Essex.
Click here for more information and to express your interest.
About the partnership
The partnership between the Jack Petchey Foundation (JPF) and Table Tennis England is one of London and Essex’s most successful youth sport collaborations, extending opportunities for young people aged 11 to 19 to learn, compete and thrive through table tennis.
It has provided well over 100,000 young people with the chance to pick up a bat, get active, connect with others and reach their potential through the sport.
The programme now runs on a two-year cycle and 2026/27 is the second year of that cycle. During 2025/26, we focused on:
- Communities ranked IMD 1-4 (the most deprived quartiles)
- SEND schools and inclusive settings
- Organisations actively promoting girls’ participation
Working with partners, local councils and disability organisations, the programme extended opportunities to the young people who benefit most from accessible, low-cost activity.
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