PARENTS and toddlers face a search for a new swimming pool when a language school closes.

Staff at Ovingdean Hall College in Brighton announced in mid-May it was likely to close due to financial difficulties. The closure has now been confirmed.

As a result the swimming groups who use its heated pool face going out of business if they cannot relocate.

Trina Requena is one of those to be hit by the closure. She has been running Ocean Spirit Swim School for four years, teaching children and adults with a range of different needs.

Miss Requena said: “It felt like a big kick in the stomach when I found out. I was gutted.

“We are not just teaching children to swim – we are teaching them life skills.”

The 42-year-old is working to get another pool for her children but nothing is certain.

She said: “I’m in limbo. There’s a chance I could lose my business but more than that it’s about the children and adults who swim.

“We are absolutely lacking in good facilities for swimming locally which is a real shame.”

The pool in the complex heats the water to 32C, making it ideal for babies.

Vicki Steven is the director of Water Babies Brighton and Mid Sussex, another group that uses the pool.

Mrs Steven, 35, said: “For us it’s major because we have about 150 swimmers each week.

“Because it’s a 32C pool, it’s the only one where we can swim with babies. We also have lots of special needs children who need it, too.

“At the moment we’re taking it each week at a time. We are keeping our fingers crossed but we are desperately searching for a new pool.”

The groups have until July 22, when term ends, to find new places to teach.

One parent affected is Sarah Lewis, 44, who has a daughter called Wynne, nearly two.

Mrs Lewis said: “Good swimming pools are few and far between. We have taken her into the King Alfred but it’s not the same.

“We feel really sad because it’s such a lovely pool. It’s a lot of disruption.”

On May 15, the college told its suppliers by email that it was “devastated” about its demise but said all outstanding invoices would be settled in full.

Trevor Racke, a director of Ovingdean Hall College, said: “We have treated all the suppliers and people who use our facilities in exactly the right manner.”