The first finalists in the No Child Left Behind awards, in association with Punchline-Gloucester.com, have been announced.

The awards celebrate the projects, groups, services, events, activities and organisations that have supported families in Cheltenham over the past year.

The finalists in the Our Town category, sponsored by Evans Jones, are:

• Every Cloud play therapy

• The Rock

• Gloucestershire Bundles

• Cornerstone Centre

David Jones, managing director at Evans Jones Property and Planning Consultancy, said: "We are delighted to sponsor the NCLB awards especially after such a challenging couple of years.

"All young people deserve the opportunity to thrive and we are proud to be able to lend our support to celebrate those shining examples of individuals, projects and organisations who have gone above and beyond to do just this."

The finalists in the Positive Relationships category, sponsored by Infrastar, are:

• Gardners Lane & Oakwood Federation

• Family Space

• Gloucester Road Primary School

Glen Griffin, CEO of Infrastar, said: "As a growing company, we at Infrastar firmly believe that every child should be entitled to an education and given the tools needed to achieve this, and that what we do today has an ongoing impact tomorrow.

"We are a strong and vocal supporter of NCLB and have been honoured to work with No Child Left Behind, Laptops for Learning and the Cheltenham Education Partnership to help source at cost and provide laptops to various local schools and academies."

The finalists in the Confident Girls category, sponsored by Hartpury University & Hartpury College, are:

• The Rock

• The Music Works

Stuart Emmerson, director of business development at Hartpury University and Hartpury College, said: "Hartpury University and Hartpury College are incredibly proud to sponsor the 'Confident Girls' category of the No Child Left Behind Awards.

"There is a great deal of inspirational work taking place to support young women in the area and we are delighted to be able to help shine a light on those making a positive difference to young people's lives."

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony at Cheltenham Town Hall on January 13. The prestigious venue is being provided by venue sponsor, Cheltenham Trust, with activities and games on the night provided by sponsor, All About Fun.

All shortlisted nominations will be announced over the next few days on Twitter, Facebook and Punchline-Gloucester.com.