PLAYERS from Harefield Academy took top honours in the Boys Under 19 category and retained the trophy they won last year at the fourth annual Jack Petchey Foundation London Schools’ Table Tennis Team Finals.

The event was held at the University of East London’s SportsDock on Saturday, hosted by Table Tennis England and supported by the Jack Petchey Foundation.

The awards came at the end of a day of fast and furious action on the tables, with 230 players making up 43 teams from 28 London schools in boys and girls categories at under-11, under-13, under-16 and under-19.

All the teams fought through regional competitions held during 2014 to compete in the final.

The Harefield team was Mitchell Jones, Danny Lewis, Ben Naylor-Smith, Nicholas Li and Gaurau Aravind.

Coach Eli Baraty, who has been at the school for seven years, said “Table tennis is very popular at Harefield and our free tables are used daily, attracting more students to take up the game.”

Jack Petchey, the 89 year old founder of the Foundation, who is passionate about giving young people freedom and opportunity, said: “I’ve been a fan of table tennis since my own youth.

"It’s a fantastic sport and I am delighted to see this partnership grow, with more young Londoners taking part.”