We are a little different and I think we stand a good chance

Stephanie Manuel, Stagecoach

Besides Jamie Bell, other stars who have started out at Stagecoach schools include Pop Idol finalist Zoe Birkett, and Alakina Mann of the current Nicole Kidman film The Others.

Founder Stephanie Manuel, who opened the school in 1988, said the expansion would give hundreds more children the chance to discover acting, singing and dancing.

Capital

"All the children become much more confident and better able to perform in life," she said.

"We have never received any funding and now plan to expand. We need to raise capital in order to take the business to the next stage."

Ms Manuel, 57, will receive �650,000 when the Surrey-based company is floated on the alternative investment market.

Joint chief executive and fellow founder David Sprigg, a former lending manager with Barclays Bank, will receive the same amount.

The remaining �2.7m will be used to expand the schools into north Wales, Scotland, Manchester and the Midlands.

Classes

The schools are run as franchises, buying the right to operate in areas of the UK by paying Stagecoach a percentage of the school's fees.

Students pay �250 for a term with three hours of classes a week.

Stagecoach is planning to use the proceeds of the flotation to buy back parts of existing operations that current franchisees have not been able to develop.

Stagecoach, which made a profit of �600,000 in the year to 31 May, also hopes to develop a part-time sports tuition franchise network built on a similar model - called SportsCoach.

Ms Manuel said she hoped the float would take place later this month and thought there would be much investor interest.

"We are a little different and I think we stand a good chance," she said.