OLYMPIC star Tom Daley is diving into his school books after his first day back in class in the wake of the Beijing Olympics.

Tom, 14, joined classmates in Year 10 at Eggbuckland Community College in Plymouth where he is starting his studies for his GCSEs.

But Tom is still no ordinary student – he left lessons at 1pm to attend the launch of the Tiger Woods 09 computer game in London. And this morning he was taking part in an Olympic breakfast with gold medal rower James Cracknell and BBC presenter John Inverdale.

Then he was joining Radio 1 presenters Annie Mac and Nick Grimshaw for the BBC Switch show.

The teenager was watched by millions on television as he clinched seventh in the men's 10-metre platform diving and eighth in the men's synchro final with Blake Aldridge.

But staff at the school said they tried to keep his two lives separate – though Tom's achievement was mentioned and applauded by classmates during the Year 10 assembly.

Tom said: "It was really good; it was good to see all my friends and say 'hello'.

"They were saying 'well done' and have been really welcoming and supportive.

"I did not mind the applause but it was a bit embarrassing. I have just got my timetable and found out what I need to do this year."

College vice-principal Simon Crawford said: "From the start, our mindset has been to keep his school life as separate as possible from his diving, while at the same time celebrate his fantastic achievements.

"We just wanted to give him time to talk with his friends, whom he has not seen for several weeks.

"It is great to have him here. He is a lovely lad and he is doing excellent work at school."

He added Tom benefited from the school's renowned use of the internet and email to allow him to complete schoolwork no matter where he was in the world.

Following his Olympic success, Tom is firmly on the celebrity circuit. He was invited by EA Games to the launch of the latest in the Tiger Woods golf series in London.

Tom added he was not sure whether the great golfer would be there himself.

He added he had bumped into the games company at an awards ceremony and they had sent him a Nintendo Wii console and several games. Tom, accompanied by his father Rob, was not really sure of details such as the venue of the launch event in the whirl of fame.

He is studying for nine GCSEs in his chosen subjects – Maths, English, Spanish, double science and an IT course, which is the equivalent of four GCSEs.