St Edward’s will be looking to win the under-11s boys’ category once again after reaching the finals of the Butterfly National School Team Championships [Table Tennis England]

THE capital’s premier ping-pong aces are busy plotting their schedules at the practice tables after securing an elusive spot at the grand finals of the Butterfly National School Team Championships.

Squads from University College School (UCS) in Hampstead and St Edward’s Catholic Primary School in Marylebone were among the “zone winners” who were triumphant in Bristol earlier this month.

St Marylebone CE School and St George’s Catholic School in Maida Vale also progressed – proving once and for all that central London is a hotbed of table tennis talent.

In the boys’ competition there was double success for UCS, with their Under-19s seeing off the challenges of Watford Grammar, Bromsgrove School and Bournemouth School, while the school’s Under-13s got past Millfield Prep, Bromsgrove School and King Edward VI Grammar from Chelmsford.

UCS Under-13s boys’ team will also be at the nationals after beating Millfield Prep, Bromsgrove School and King Edward VI Grammar from Chelmsford

The Under-11s boys from St Edward’s School are looking to win their category for the third time in succession having been national champions in 2020 and 2022 – with the 2021 competition being cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.

They defeated teams from St Andrew’s Prep School in Eastbourne, Millfield Prep in Glastonbury and Juniper Hill School in High Wycombe to win the regional finals.

St George’s Catholic School will also get the chance to defend the Under-16s girls’ title they won last year after overcoming schools from Brighton and Rugby to win the regionals.

St Marylebone CE School, meanwhile, won the Under-13s girls’ regional final, overcoming schools from Glastonbury and Brighton.

The finals will be held on Sunday, April 23 at WV Active in Wolverhampton.

Paul Stimpson, from Table Tennis England, said: “It was great to see a terrific standard of play and the amazing support the players received from their teammates, coaches and parents.”

He added: “Hundreds of children across London are given access to table tennis every year thanks to the Jack Petchey Foundation. We’re very proud that our partnership with the foundation is instrumental in helping them to reach their potential and in many cases discover a lifelong love of the sport.”