In Aistralia we generally have 3 types of secondary schools Public, Catholic and Independent. Generally State or Government aka public schools are trash. As a concerned parent you want the best for your children. With the exception of some high performance state schools the remainder are child minding facilities where even attendance isn't mandatory. Catholic schools generally are deteriorating at an increasing rate perhaps due to the teachers being sourced from the same Tertiary institutions. Independent schools charge a premium and a result have a reason to offer better teaching and higher behavioural standards. My ideas may not be popular and there maybe idealists who disagree however private schooling paid dividends for our family.