In a way i love going to a rural/regional school. There are about 400 at my school, with about 60 in year 12. I think being from an area like this keeps you a little more grounded compared to those on here that are stressing to the max about not getting 100% on an advanced english paper that they wrote 20 pages on and think that they didn't write enough. At my school the emphasis is on doing the absolute best you can, but also making sure we know that if we completely bomb out, it's not the end of the world and that, if you want it enough, there are always ways and means of achieving what you want to (HELLO MATURE AGE STUDENT!).
I'm after an ATAR of around 80, but i think (fingers crossed anyway) that i'll get more than that! In regards to the ADV. English exam, i didn't think it was that bad.. Yeats question nearly killed me, because no one in my class liked the poem, so didn't concentrate on it as much as we should have :/ haha
I think we're lucky at my school that we have so many really amazing teachers. I identify with english, math and PE completely ruling the school, especially PE with us (i swear we have more PE teachers than what we need), but our science faculty is amazing, complete with a german physics teacher, who is honestly the most intelligent man i have met in my life.
All in all, i don't think it makes a difference where your school is (rural/regional or metropolitain). it depends on the student and how determined they are to get to where they want to be