New and old circus-goers alike were left "devastated" by the news, and the circus community said losing Circus Monoxide would leave a hole nothing else could fill.

The management committee behind the 25-year-old circus school sent an email to students and families earlier this month saying the difficult decision to shut down was a year in the making.

Families were told ongoing pressures such as rent, an increase of more than 300 per cent to insurance and other operating expenses made the business not viable. Meantime, the charity has been without a general manager for nearly 12 months.

Parents are now calling for the community to help find a way to save the beloved circus, while past and present staff are trying to rally supporters.

Circus Monoxide has been an iconic name in the Illawarra community since the group began in 1996, and has been offering circus training since 2000, with skills classes in aerials, silks, trapeze and unicycles.

They have also run programs for diverse communities such as children on the autism spectrum as well as champion fundraisers for other community causes.

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Parents of students at the circus school said there is nothing else like it in the region, giving kids the opportunity to learn unique skills in an environment without expectations and pressure.

Illawarra mum Sarah Smith said her 11-year-old daughter Gwen has been doing aerial classes at the circus since she was in kindergarten.

The circus provided the space for her daughter to challenge herself in a safe and fun environment, without the competitive elements of other activities like gymnastics and cheerleading.

"I've seen her blossom and get stronger and get more confident as the years go on," she said.

Mum Tija Hurry said the circus classes were the only sport she didn't have to coax her daughters into going to.

While they tried gymnastics, Ms Hurry said they stopped liking it as the pressure got too much, but the supportive environment at Circus Monoxide, without the elements of competition and stress, was exactly what they were looking for.

"Out of all the sports that they've done - they've done soccer, tennis, gymnastics, swimming - this is the one thing I don't have to coax them [to go to]," she said.

Former general manager Jonathan Christley said it would be a severe loss to the community if the circus school closed as it had not only helped people boost people's confidence, but multiple students had also gone on to be accepted into the highly competitive National Circus School.

"I've lost track of the number of times people have said things like 'I came to circus and found my crowd, I was lonely and lost' ... I just see this really important resource an asset," he said.

"If we lose it, we lose all that as well as the community and it's just such a great opportunity for young people to follow a dream."

A cultural hub

While Amanda Lawler's eight-year-old daughter Koha has only been going to Circus Monoxide's classes for a term, she fell in love with the "mystique" of the place immediately.

"It's a world of curiosity, it has this mystique about it, like they're running away to the circus every Monday," Ms Lawler said.

Ms Lawler said the circus is an important cultural hub for the Illawarra, ousting the assumption that regional places lack culture and character.

She read about Circus Monoxide's classes while living in Sydney and had also heard about it from a friend before she moved to Wollongong, proving the school had value beyond the Illawarra, she said.

"We knew of its reputation, it seemed like [something] completely different, something for everyone," she said.

"It upends the notion of a quaint folksy regional town - it's a pumping, cultural place."

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The circus's wide-scale appeal is something else that sets it apart, she said, with classes for all ages.

Ms Lawler said her husband had wanted to try an open-ages class, and she was planning on enrolling her sons in classes, too.

"I'm devastated I can't give my sons those experiences," she said.

Ms Smith said Circus Monoxide was a truly unique place, and losing it would not only be heartbreaking for her family, but for the wider Illawarra community.

The space Circus Monoxide has carved out in the community won't be easily filled, she said.

"There's nothing like it in the whole Illawarra - I've looked," Ms Smith said.

Devastated parents hope someone in the community will step up to save the circus.

It's understood the circus school needs more than just money to help them through, but people willing to dedicate time to keeping it alive.

If you'd like to support Circus Monoxide in some way, please contact them via the Mercury HERE.