Honour is at stake at Deyes High School as the teachers prepare to take on the pupils for National Table Tennis Day.
Following the success of Deyes’ after school table tennis club, a successful application to the Sport England Small Grants Award resulted in four new outdoor concrete tables being installed for the pupils to play during their breaks.
Next Wednesday (16th July) the skills of the year 8 pupils, and their teachers, will be put to the test in a Staff v Pupils doubles tournament featuring four teams on each side.
Ged Howard, Media Teacher at Deyes, said: “We have an after school club that takes place in the school canteen and we wanted a place where pupils can play in their own time at lunch, so we applied for the outdoor concrete tables after seeing them in Liverpool City Centre last summer for the Ping! Liverpool project.
“The pupils are all players who have only been playing since the outdoor tables have been installed and are out there every lunchtime so it is just the chance to showcase and highlight their dedication to this new sport!
“It is an ideal sport for the pupils as there is no setup required, little equipment and everybody is able to have fun and achieve something regardless of their ability.”
The Deyes High School pupils have been utilising their newly-found talents at local Merseyside School tournaments and are starting to worry the teachers.
“I think some are very nervous,” Howard revealed. “one teacher said to me today that he may need to stay after school one night to get some secret training in!
The winning side will receive a small trinket and, if the event is a success, the tournament could become an annual fixture at the school.