Table tennis
Our table tennis programme began as Table Tennis for Kids – a community club in what was little more than a shed. Greenhouse now helps more than 5,000 young people every week through table tennis in schools and community clubs across London and Wales.
A fast and exciting game, table tennis allows us to engage many young people with a multitude of different needs in both mainstream and special needs groups. We offer exciting tournaments and training camps all over the country – and indeed the world. From the Beijing Olympics to Belgium, Scotland, Romania and Sweden, Greenhouse opens up a diverse range of opportunities for young people who have often not travelled far from home.
Open participation
Our programmes are open to all young people – boys and girls – within our schools. We also run all-girls clubs to encourage involvement in sport, building their confidence in a safe and supportive environment. It's often not long before the girls want to compete against the boys!
Building on excellence
We are working to build Britain's Olympic Legacy by developing the talents of young people in deprived areas with high-quality, accessible sports coaching close to home. In the UK, 50 of the top 100 table tennis players under 18 come from Greenhouse.
Working in Wales
Our Greenhouse table tennis programme extends to the Rhondda Valley in Wales. We serve a community there which has very different needs from our London base – but one that faces adversities due to a lack of provision for young people. Watch the video: The story of Greenhouse Wales
Learn more:
Greenhouse serves up four national champions in 2009
Greenhouse paralympic hopefuls
Table tennis helps Mark control his anger
Community Club
Greenhouse Progress
'Greenhouse has had extraordinary success in engaging with and inspiring youngsters. Although sport is the chosen method of engagement, it is the results in terms of boosting the self-esteem, fitness and behaviour of young people that sets Greenhouse apart.'
Matthew Syed, three times Men's Singles Champion, Commonwealth Games
We work in
- Burlington Danes Academy
- Central Foundation Girls School
- Eastbury Comprehensive School
- Ernest Bevin School
- Ferndale Community School
- Greenhouse Progress
- Harefield Academy
- Morpeth School
- St. Michaels and All Angels Church of England Academy
- Tonypandy Community College
- Tonyrefail Comprehensive School
- Wembley High Technology College
- West London Academy
