It was the grin and the look of stunned surprise on Ruth Kelly's face that said it all, writes Rebecca Smithers.
As the chancellor put education firmly at the centre of his 10th budget, even the education secretary looked as though there was more for her in his bulging budget box than she had been led to expect.
Brown's policy is simple - flog off any assets that are still in public ownership, your granny and the cat - and pump the proceeds into the state education system. The government seems to have finally woken up to the fact that the disparity in funding per pupil between private and state schools must be ended, and is taking the first steps towards eroding it.
The irony is that despite all the tinkering planned for the schools system by Tony Blair, at the end of the day it is extra spondulies that will really make the difference. Even Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, could barely contain his delight.
The man who usually misses no opportunity to give the government a good kicking said: "Gordon Brown is to be congratulated for announcing an education budget. His commitment to increase investment in education is precisely the boost schools need. By targeting high class sizes and the invidious gap between state and private school spending he has shown that he understands the needs of school communities. It is exactly the kind of vision we want from this government."
Among his other offerings are a boost for science - which will be made a mainstream subject alongside literacy and numeracy and buoyed by 3,000 extra teachers - and extra funding to give adults seeking "a second chance" in education free tuition up to the age of 25. Gosh, at this rate our Gordon will be scrapping tuition fees ...
