In my opinion, if this was a debate regarding whether or not selective schools have more intelligent students than public schools, then my answer would be yes, of course they do.
However, more significantly (to me, anyway) is the debate on whether or not selective schools are
better than public schools. I think this would result in one of those never-ending debates which never reach an agreement.
I, myself, am from a public school, and I'm very proud of it. If the cards were drawn differently and history showed me attending a selective school, then I'm sure I would have been extremely proud there also.
Based on what I've just said, it's probably no shock for me to say that I believe both schools are equal, and my argument rests merely on one fact: a student from a public school
can attain a UAI of 100. You don't need to attend a selective school, or be dux of your year, or do 4-units of maths and english; you simply need motivation and consistency.. which are found in a person, not a school.
It's not the school that makes the people, it's the people that make the school.. and - even though they don't exist anymore - those are my two cents. All criticism welcome.