Mr Blair was a hit on his final stop at a further education college

Prime Minister Tony Blair has been making a whirlwind tour of education establishments, as he prepares to leave office. The BBC's Andrew Bomford was travelling with him and sent back his impressions.

By far the most enthusiastic welcome of the day as close to 2,000 excited youngsters crowd the corridors and hang out of windows to shout "Tony, Tony!" like he's a visiting pop star.

He watched trainee beauticians giving massages and manicures. He declined the offer to have his nails done but did accept a bag of cosmetics from one student who said: "This is for your wife, if you want to get into her good books tonight."

In the college kitchen he saw trainee chefs preparing beef and spinach, and had a go at caramelising a cr�me br�l�e with a blowtorch.

As far as the legacy goes, judging by the reaction so far on day one of his tour, in educational terms at least it is secure.

The children's centre brings together pre-school provision with healthcare, maternity and ante-natal care and is one of more than 1,000 so far created.

By now Mr Blair is running about an hour late. He is whisked in to story time and hears all about the hunt for a missing seashell.

The children have made him a card, and hand over a basket of flowers. He is starting to look a little like the Queen.

Mr Blair meets parents and toddlers and talks to them about this one stop shop with most of the services they need. One mother quite genuinely says it's a great time to be a parent right now.

TB is beaming. This is what he came here for.

A stop to look at how different educational establishments can work together. Windsor High is to be a trust school, one of 70 pathfinders. It has teamed up with a sixth form college and with Wolverhampton University to extend what it can offer the children.

Mr Blair met sixth form students who attend the local college for subjects such as business studies and hairdressing. He talked to one girl who has just started learning Cantonese. He was impressed, but then she admitted that so far she had only learnt to count to 10.

On the sports ground he watched a hockey lesson. Then when he spotted a tennis game in action hew couldn't resist the temptation to join in. He had a game with 13-year-old Charlie and did have some trouble returning the serve.

Mr Blair blamed the artificial surface for the poor bounce, but afterwards Charlie said he thought the PM might have been making excuses.

Tony Blair arrived by Royal Navy Merlin helicopter at one of the 26 new academy schools built so far. They are run as partnerships with private organisations, in this case the United Learning Trust.

Teachers said more than �30m had been spent on the state-of-the art school which opened in January 2006.

Here the PM saw local gymnasts honing their trampolining skills and was literally open-mouthed with amazement at their acrobatic skill. The instructor invited him to join in but he laughingly declined the opportunity.

The gymnasts use school facilities for their training and are hoping to compete in the 2012 Olympics. They also help teach and inspire the schoolchildren.

Mr Blair chatted to youngsters having a geography lesson. Seeing a wall poster about the European Parliament, Mr Blair asked the teacher if that was what they were studying.

"No, we are actually doing natural disasters," she said.

Mr Blair also wandered into a sixth form sociology class and immediately got into an impromptu discussion about relative and absolute poverty and what best improves people's prospects, benefits or education. The answer, left hanging, was obvious to everyone there - education.

In a speech he referred to his own schooling at fee-paying Fettes College in Edinburgh, and said it had been his idea to create academies because he wanted others to get the same kind of opportunities.

"I had a very privileged education," he said.

"What that left with me all the time was the knowledge that, if I hadn't had that start in life, I wouldn't have been able to do what I was able to do.

"This should be for all our children, all of them, to get the chance in life that they need."

Tony Blair and Education Secretary Alan Johnson arrive at the school in the shadow of that failed New Labour icon, the Millennium Dome.

The school though is new. It was opened in 2001 and is very welcoming. It is one of 1,106 new schools opened during the Blair years.

Mr Blair is met by head teacher Amanda Dennison and shown around by some of the schoolchildren including 11-year-old Christian. One of them is heard to ask: "So who is Gordon Brown anyway?"

He sees the breakfast club, has a piece of toast with 10 children, and looks at the special needs provision for children with autism and cerebral palsy.

After a tour of the adventure playground and football pitch he says what seems like a sad goodbye to the children - one of many goodbyes in the next few weeks.