FINANCIAL troubles at a city academy prove education chiefs were wrong to order the closure of a "perfectly good school" nearby, according to campaigners.

Abbey Wood School, Eynsham Drive, is due to close in 2009, two years after the planned completion of St Paul's Academy.

But now the £20m academy has been hit by a cash crisis, sparking fears hundreds of pupils could be left in limbo, looking for a new school.

Opponents of the Abbey Wood closure say this problem could be avoided, if it is kept open.

Greenwich Conservative group leader Councillor Spencer Drury said: "Children might have to travel two or three miles to school when there is going to be one half empty on their doorstep.

"To say this would be a ridiculous situation is an understatement."

Abbey Wood School has already stopped taking in new pupils and will close once its existing intake finish their studies in three years.

It is being closed despite a 50 per cent improvement in GCSE grades last year.

Sue Mitchell, who has a son at the school, said: "It is a perfectly good school and should not be closing at a time when we are improving."

The academy, in Wickham Lane, opened last September but is due to welcome its full intake of 680 pupils into new buildings next year.

Last month construction work on the academy, which is being funded by faith group The Archdiocese of Southwark, was suspended because of cash problems.

This has sparked fears hundreds of pupils will have to find a new school elsewhere.

Abbey Wood headteacher Sue Harry is resigned to the fact her school will not be handed a reprieve.

She said: "Any delay in the academy won't affect our position.

"It is a dreadful injustice but I fear there is no going back."

Greenwich Council says it is not considering reopening Abbey Wood School.

A spokesman added it will consider any implications of a delay to the academy once the Department of Education has decided how to proceed with the building project.