Trill, it wasn't Gareth Malone - I missed that series. This was a few years ago and at the time I got the impression that it was a regional school out in Vic or NSW. I should track the Malone one down, I remember being disappointed I missed it.

I guess each different type of environment is going to cater to different aspects of learning and development, possibly in subtle ways that the research has not yet even begun to tease out. In the end, you just have to choose. I think if you try to choose a school that appears to cater for the whole child, with programs that go beyond the purely academic, it's more likely to encompass enough of that other stuff so that your child will eventually integrate their learning, and come out sufficiently well rounded to have the skills to tackle whatever direction they decide to go in later on.