Hi Totoro,

Welcome to the forum.

Where are you? Feel free to PM me (click on my name and then choose send a PM). We're in the Bay area. I can offer meandering advice on the schools that my kids have attended and that we've looked at here.

Re: Gunn and Paly. Very high pressure. Also, a lot of the success of the public schools here is due to both the parents and the talent levels of the students.

Middle and private schools depend on where you live.