their earnings when I was high-school age. I earnt a half-scholarship, which enabled me to attend my college for five years and not send my parents (completely) broke. The school was very generous in this respect, and often discounted fees for families in need. I should also point out that we didn't have school-trips to Tuscany or tonnes of fancy equipment. It was a conservative, stolid college with committed teachers. Even among private schools, there are the ones that promote elitism and snobbery at one end and more socialist, egalitarian schools at the other. This exists in state schools, too. One in my city is renowned for its sports program. Their facilities are superior to any other in Toowoomba, state or private. In Queensland, the OP system is kept in check by subject moderation by the Queensland Core Skills test. These two measures do rank schools, but not in order to privilege one over the other. A grade of A in one school may not necessarily be equal to a grade of A in another. Subject moderation assesses how difficult a subject's curriculum is compared to its peers in other schools; the QCS is a skills-based test that determines relative aptitude of kids in various schools. This means that, if a bunch of students score well on the QCS (showing that they are capable thinkers) but are all getting lower subject results than another school, it probably indicates that the curriculum there is more difficult. I believe that this is