KENT had two finalists at the National Schools Table Tennis Championships in Stoke, the biggest British tournament of the year. Maidstone Grammar School's Dominic Hall, top seed in the Under-19 boys event, lost in the final to Essex's third seed Peter Cleminson.

England junior international Hall had beaten players from Hereford and Worcs, Middlesex, Hampshire, Somerset and Oxford in the group matches and then accounted for Gregg Yarnall (Nottingham) and in the semi-final Alex Green (Lincolnshire) before losing in five close legs to Cleminson.

Gemma Yarnley (Folkestone School for Girls) lost in the under-13 girls' final. She beat players from Norfolk, East Sussex, West Yorkshire, Durham and Middlesex in the group stages and then progressed to the final with wins against Claire Howe (Somerset) and Sarra Wang (Essex) in the semi-final. In the final, however, Yarnley, the top seed, was beaten by the second seed Lauren Springthorpe (Lincs).

Schools champions from every county in the age groups under-11, under-13 and under-19 competed. There was some consolation for both Yarnley and Hall as both have been selected to represent England Schools for the Home Countries tournament in Wales at the end of June.

In the under-11 girls Laura Yarnley (Folkestone) won her group and then lost in the quarter finals. John Bispham (Folkestone) won his under-11 boys group and then lost in the quarter finals.

In the under-13 boys Charles Feaver, of Sittingbourne, lost all his group matches, in the under-16 girls Joanne Hubbard (Tunbridge Wells) won two matches but failed to get out of her group and in the under-16 boys John Harley (Medway) was runner-up in his group and then lost his first round match.