Blair hails education record

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Royal Navy Sea King helicopters ferried him across the country on a hectic day trip to five different educational establishments.

They ranged from pre-school breakfast club to a further education college - where Mr Blair was even offered the chance to have his nails done.

The premier chose to highlight education - the topic he put at the top of his agenda in 1997 - on the day the Department for Education published figures showing 1,160 new schools had been built since he won his first election victory.

He began his day shortly after 8am at the Millennium Primary School, in the shadow of the Dome, one of his more controversial legacies. There he munched on toast chatting to youngsters at their pre-school breakfast club, which is one of 5,000 now established across England.

About 50 minutes later his helicopter took him a rain swept Northampton Academy where he delivered a passionate defence of his championing of academy and trust schools.

He said the Government was on course to establish 80 academies by September with another 50 next year. The premier said another 140 trust schools would also soon be established so that over the next few years all schools could be on their way to either trust or academy status.

Mr Blair left Northampton at 11.25 and arrived in Halesowen at 11.55 to visit Windsor High School for 11 to 16-year-olds, a Trust Pathway school.

At 1pm the Prime Minister was whisked away by helicopter once more to land later at Kilton Children's centre in Worksop in front of a bunch of goggle-eyed toddlers and infants. He sped away from there at 2.20pm after hearing a rendition of Old MacDonald had a Farm and arrived at South Trafford College, Altrincham, Cheshire, a further education college, where he touched down at 2.46pm.

The Prime Minister headed back to London at 4.05pm after what may be the first of several such visits both at home and abroad that feel more like a hectic day's election campaigning than a prime ministerial swansong.