My DD will be going public....well that's the decision we've made so far.

I have nothing major against private schooling, but she is not baptised/christened, so that makes it harder to get in over here. And the public primary school in our area is spoken of way more highly than the privates in the area.

Like above though, I like in an upper-middle class area now. If I was living in the suburb I did last year, there's no way I would send my kid to the local public school.

I went to 4 schools in grade 1. 3 were private, one was public.

1st - private - said I had learning problems and I was moved out bcuase we moved interstate
2nd - private - very deeply religious and ALL the kids still had to line up in the common area and march to class every morning - I was kicked out.
3rd - private - kicked out.
4th - public - I liked it. Suddenly my apparent 'learning problem' disapeared and I suddenly turned 'bright'.

Half way through Grade 3 we moved back to WA and I was put back in the original private school. On my first day back I was bullied and had the crap beaten out of me until the end of year 8. I was told that "You're not worthy, God doesn't want you" in Grade 3, becuase my family was Anglican, not Catholic. But that of course has nothing to do with it being a private school...more with it being in the country and populated by very old and old fashioned teachers.

Then my family moved to the City so my sis and I could get a "better education". I was landed at what is most likely still in the top 5 list of WORST schools in Perth (gangs, violence, major drug problem, kids getting killed from bashings etc). It's public. My sister got to go to a private school. I didn't get a choice.

I have since worked at the most expensive boy's school in the state, and also the cheapest boy's school in the state. Both are as bad as one another...just one costs parents $10000+ more a year than the other!

I am not sure if it matters whether a school is private or public....but the quality of the school does.

Let's just say that I would never send my kid to an exxy school just to look good...but especially not after working at them and seeing the inner workings of the place!