Wow! Which do you reckon was/is the best?
Kind of hard to say as it's so subjective not to mention there's still giant differences between different private schools and public schools. But if I were to remain as objective as I possibly can...
Private (Catholic) School: Really not that "glorified" as many people make it out to be. Most students are not posh or stuck-up, they do not flaunt their wealth, and some facilities are far from expensively top tier. The one I went to isn't that great academically but there was heavy focus on sport and creative/performing arts. Also despite being a Catholic school it was really inclusive of other religions. We had compulsory religious education but the Chaplain and religion teachers were all very understanding even if you outright challenge their beliefs.
Public/Govt school: In terms of extracurriculars it cannot compare with private schools. We don't have compulsory sport, art or music programs and most students don't seem interested in that anyway. I think they tried implementing one years back but it didn't work. Academic wise, it's average at best. But the school I go to is in the outer suburbs so it's no way representative of other public schools.
Distance education: urghhhhh I really hate distance ed. This year I did 1/2 specialist maths and 1/2 physics through DECV (as my school offers neither) and did not have the best experience. Everything is badly disorganised and you rarely get the opportunity to receive feedback. So when you study through DECV you must be really responsible for your own studies because there's nobody chasing you down.
Homeschool: This was an interesting experience! I was homeschooled for 2 years (2017-18) and went into it not knowing what to expect. I didn't want to be homeschooled but I was falling behind A LOT and failed most of my subjects in year 10. Contrary to popular belief you're not cut off from all social life just because you're homeschooled, and there's still expectations and a curriculum you have to follow. But it's slightly more relaxed than school and I used those two years to explore a lot of other options.
Overall I would rank it private>homeschool>public>distance.