where I am in NZ we are in the middle of several very good privates - they are all very large though.

We have opted for public school in primary/intermediate and the private for secondary. Our reasoning is that the private school benefits won't really kick in until year 7/8 so that saves us $$$ plus we would like our kids to experience some diversity - our city is very very WHITE, our local public has a very high Maori/Pacifika student body so this is great. The local private does not :-(

Also - as a family that can indeed produce some very elitest children if we chose to, sending them to public will hopefully nip that sense of entitlement in the butt.

We like the private school because the opportunities they offer in terms of facilities and activities are just so much more than the public secondary schools. Thankfully we are in a position to send our kids. There is nothing wrong with the local public high school, it's just not as good as the private.

BTW as someone in a fortunate life position - I'd like to point out that I am at great pains to make sure my kids never take anything for granted.