A stage school that closed weeks before students were due to sit exams may have been a casualty of the credit crunch.

Stonelands School of Ballet and Arts in Hove closed in February without warning forcing scores of students to find new schools weeks ahead of their GCSEs.

The Argus can reveal Stonelands will hold a meeting of creditors on Thursday to place the school in voluntary liquidation.

Although no reasons have been given for the sudden closure, an insolvency firm has hinted the economy may be to blame.

Richard Simms, the managing director of insolvency practitioners FA Simms and Partners Limited, which is managing the liquidation, said: "The current economic and market conditions may have contributed to the business difficulties.

"Once we are appointed, we will be working with all the key parties involved to investigate the reasons for the failure and ensure that any required action is taken."

The meeting will discuss deferring payments to creditors. Mr Simms said there was no other option but to do a managed close down of the school.

The sudden closure of the £3,000 a term academy in Church Road shocked parents who were given just five hours notice.

Parents have received no explanation as to why the school closed which has added to their frustration.

Ian Jowitt's daughter was about to sit her GCSEs at the school. He claims the school owes him nearly £4,000 in fees and deposits and is one of a handful of parents who have threatened to sue the school's owner, Diana Carteur.

Former teachers have claimed they were also kept in the dark over the closure which laid off a staff team of ten.

One teacher, who did not wish to be named, said: "We have all been left devastated. None of the teachers knew of the impending closure until we arrived at school on the Tuesday.

"We were asked not to tell the students until their parents had been informed. Many parents could not collect their children until the end of the school day.

"This was very distressing for the staff who all stayed on to keep the children calm, this despite having been told we had also lost our jobs.

"We were asked not to speak to the press, which we did assuming there would be some kind of official statement.

"As it is many of us are now unemployed and for some it was our only form of income to cover mortgages, rents and provision for our own children."

The creditors' meeting will be held on Thursday at 1.30pm at Best Western Princes Marine Hotel, 153 Kingsway, Hove.

Creditors of Stonelands should write to the insolvency practitioners detailing the amount owed at F A Simms and Partners Limited at Insol House, 39 Station Road, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, LE17 4AP.