THERE has been much talk of Tony Blair's legacy in the protracted countdown to his departure from Downing Street.

With 11 days to go before the MP for Sedgefield becomes the former Prime Minister, perhaps his legacy - or at least an important part of it - was summed up by Darlington headteacher Jim O'Neill.

Mr Blair was at Carmel RC Technology College yesterday - his last school visit as Prime Minister - to open two new science laboratories.

And Mr O'Neill, a highly respected headteacher who has been at the sharp end of education for a working lifetime, chose the occasion to praise the Blair Government's record on education.

He spoke of a transformation in education over the past ten years, of a raising of aspirations and standards, brought about not just by Government funding but by political energy.

He thanked both Mr Blair and Darlington MP Alan Milburn for providing that energy and support.

The cynics might say that Mr O'Neill was simply being nice. The Prime Minister had, after all, done him a huge favour by putting his school in such a favourable spotlight.

But we believe that Jim O'Neill was saying it as it is. He knows how it used to be, and he knows how it is now.

Part of the Blair legacy is the vast improvement in education facilities across the country - and it is right that it is duly acknowledged.