Whitgift Lower Fifth Former and England Youth Squad table tennis player, James Smith, competed in the U15 National Cup, during the penultimate weekend in February, in Bristol. The competition is a round-robin event, where the top 10 players in England all play against each other, in the best out of seven set matches.  James won all nine of his matches, earning him the title Cadet National Cup champion.

The 15-year-old also competed at the beginning of February, as part of the U18 team that won the Junior British League Premier Division 2015/16 title, in Derby. This is a very prestigious event and allows players from other countries to play. James’ team, all English, celebrated their victory of 19 points, having dropped only nine sets out of 60.

In other Whitgift table tennis news, Mikaeel Toosy, Arjun Gill and Reiss Vydelingum competed in the London South Individual Championships, on 11 February. Mikaeel won the U11 category, defeating Arjun in an all-Whitgift final. Reiss also made the U16 final, but narrowly lost 2-3, in a very exciting match. All three boys will qualify for the Jack Petchey National Finals later this term.