TTK Greenhouse Scheme Case study: Morpeth School

Morpeth School (London) have been running their Table Tennis Program since January 2001. Coaching is available to all pupils, regardless of ability. Some play for recreation whilst others train for competition. A more comprehensive report can be seen here.

The response has been amazing. More than 200 Morpeth pupils are now training every week, with a further 220 also playing in after-school table tennis clubs in the primary schools that feed Morpeth.

Altogether, there are 34 tables within the Morpeth set-up; and an elite squad of 30 of the strongest Morpeth players is training 12 - 15 hours per week and competing on the tournament circuit at weekends.

A list of other secondary schools, such as Bacon's CTC, West London Academy, Oaklands, ... are now following suit. They have full-time coaches already appointed, and are starting to build. In these schools table tennis is variously offered: before school, during PE lessons, after school, on Saturday mornings and in holiday clubs.

High standards of personal behaviour and discipline are required during table tennis sessions, in line with the TTK Greenhouse Code of Conduct. And the common expectation seems to be that such purposeful activity, in a disciplined environment, will lead to personal developments even more valuable than table tennis skills. 

With this in mind, it is a pleasure to see the claim, (on the TTK Greenhouse web-site), attributed to the head teacher at Morpeth, that ... 'It would not be an exageration to say that for some of our pupils the table tennis has transformed their whole attitude to education'.