Oli Matthews and Emily Koester were selected to represent Bexhill Academy School at this year’s East Sussex Schools Table Tennis individual championships at Patcham High School, Brighton. In the Under 16 Boys event Oli was drawn in a very strong group of 5 players, two of whom represented Sussex. He went on to win three of his matches out of five but narrowly lost 2 sets to 1 to the eventual winner Harvey Sandwell from Varndean School, Brighton and, as only two went through to the next stage, Oli was eliminated but had given a promising display and was a credit to Bexhill Academy School.
Emily Koester played in the Under 16 Girls event against 5 opponents from Brighton. First she beat Isabelle Knight from Patcham High School 3 sets to nil, then she beat Kate Smith from Patcham High School 3 sets to nil and Charlotte Butler also from Patcham High School 3 sets to nil. Emily was now in the zone and went on to beat Izzy Langridge from Dorothy Stringer School 3 sets to nil and took the title, beating Georgina Hunter from Vardean School also by 3 sets to nil having not lost a set in any of her matches.
This rounded off an incredible display by Emily who is coached at and plays for Bexhillians Premier Table Tennis Club. She was a credit to Bexhill Academy School and qualified to go and play in the National finals at Wolverhampton but has had to withdraw as it clashes with her studies for her GCSE exams. She is currently ranked number 29 in the English Table Tennis rankings girls under 17 and number 51 in the under 19 junior girls rankings, which is quite an achievement as she was unable to play in many events or practice during Covid 19.
