The objective of this dissertation is to understand the main motivations and families strategies for students access to CPII – considered an excellence federal school – as well as the school s selective strategies in relation with the families strategies. As a research method, we adopted a qualitative approach using three data collection/production techniques: bibliographic survey of scientific articles; documental analysis; and semi-structured interviews with those from Pedrinho, quota and non-quota students from the 1st segment of Elementary School and their respective families. The selection of students and their families for the interviews was done using snowball technique. This technique implies: the initial interview participants nominate other new participants, who nominate others until they start repeating the same answer. In order to respond to the research objectives, it brings Sociology and Sociology of Education references. Sociology of Education area of knowledge tends to be broad and addresses various issues such as the relations between education and socioeconomic inequalities. Therefore, we approach the themes of families strategies mobilized by families from different social classes (middle and popular), as well as the family-school relationship and what are excellent public schools as well as the motivation for choosing Colégio Pedro II. Finally, the data analysis, the bibliographic survey and the documental analysis pointed not only to the existence of different ways of mobilizing of the middle classes and the popular classes families so that their children have access to Colégio Pedro II, but also different motivations for choosing Colégio Pedro II.