Patesians Sports and Social Club is one of the best in the country – and that’s official.

The club in Leckhampton, which has been a big part of Cheltenham life for many years, was a finalist at this year’s annual Club Mirror awards which were held at Doncaster Racecourse.

They were competing in the sports and social club category and Old Pats bar manager Rob Kingscott said: “It was great to be a finalist but next year we want to go one better and win it.”

And they must surely have every chance because the club are a big part of their community.

“On the sports side we’ve got senior, junior and tag rugby, senior and junior squash, a golf society and the Almost Athletes running group use us a base,” said Kingscott.

“On the social side, we host a bridge club, six skittles teams and many other functions.”

And it’s not just on the field that the club play such an important role.

“With the support of all sections of the club we’ve raised funds for a defibrillator which will soon be available for the whole community to use,” continued Kingscott.

“We support GCCC’s Cheltenham Cricket Festival every year by having a marquee and we host the Friends of Samaritans’ annual beer festival at Everest Road.”

Kingscott was accompanied at the awards night in Yorkshire by Doug Simpson, another familiar face at Old Pats, while television personality John Inverdale hosted the evening which attracted some 650 people.

The Club Mirror Awards, which have been going for 28 years, celebrate the very best in clubs around the country and besides the sports and social club category there were a good number of others.