The 14-year-old from Plymouth was seventh in the final of the men's individual 10-metre platform event at the Water Cube – becoming Britain's highest placed diver of the Games.

However, he was 62.25 points adrift of Russian bronze medallist Gleb Galperin and 74.4 behind champion Matthew Mitcham, of Australia.

Daley was never expected to challenge for medals at these Games, and he admitted so himself, but in four years' time hopes are high he will be one of the world's best.

Between now and then the schoolboy will find himself doing a lot of growing up and probably even more training as he seeks to add the most difficult dives to his repertoire which will allow him to challenge the elite divers.

"I'm going to go back and work on getting some harder dives for 2012," said Daley. "My scores improved from the prelims to the semis to the final but there were still a few dives I could have done a lot better.

"But I know even if I did them better the only place I would have come would have been fifth or sixth.

"I just need to go back and learn a few more harder dives and then try to perfect them. Then, hopefully, it should all go to plan in the final in London."

Daley's experiences – good and bad – of his first Games will prove invaluable to his development over the next few years as he has seen at close hand what is required to win medals.

But first he returns to the less glamorous surroundings of Eggbuckland Community College for the start of the new autumn term next month before heading off to the Junior World Championships in Aachen, Germany. But Beijing will never be far from his mind.

"I'm actually looking forward to going back to school – I can't believe I said that – but I just want to see my friends," he said. "I have two days off when I get home and then I'm back into training because there is going to be a lot of pressure going to the junior worlds because everyone is my age. I'll feel more pressure going into that than I have done here."