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.
To view the new competition structure and the details within, please click HERE to watch a video which explains all the ‘need-to-knows’.
Butterfly National Schools Championships

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

Entry fees are £31.50 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:
24th January 2024, Redbridge
Tournament Organiser: Johnathon Driscoll
The 33 London Boroughs including the City of London (London Central, London, East, London North, London South, London West)
South East:
3rd February 2024, Whitgift School
Tournament Organiser: To be confirmed.
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire & IoW, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, West Sussex
South West:
4th Feb 2024 – Plymouth
Tournament Organiser: To be confirmed.
Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire
East:
3rd February 2024, Leicester Grammar School – U11
Tournament Organiser/s: To be confirmed.
3rd & 4th February, Carlton Le willows – U13, U16, U19
Tournament Organiser/s: To be confirmed.
Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk
West:
3rd & 4th February 2024, Wood Green School
Tournament Organiser/s: Kate Hughes
Birmingham, Black Country, Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire Warwickshire, Worcestershire
North East:
3rd & 4th Feb 2024, Bradford Grammar
Tournament Organiser/s: Andrew Crabtree
Northumberland, Cleveland, Durham, Humber, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear, West Yorkshire
North West:
3rd & 4th Feb 2024, Blackburn
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
16th March 2024
SGS College, Bristol Filton Ave BS34 7AT
North
9th March 2024
Grantham College, Mere’s Leisure Centre, Grantham NG31 7XQ
Winners at Semi Finals play at the Butterfly National Finals at WV Active Aldersley, Wolverhampton WV6 9NW on the 28th April 2024

Individual Championships
Pathway: Borough Finals > County Finals > National Finals
Entry fees are £27.50 per entry
Under 19/16/13/11 age groups for boys/girls
National Finals: WV Active Aldersley, Wolverhampton WV6 9NW on the 27th April 2024
Competition calendar
Details of the 2023/24 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)
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’