The quintile system in South Africa categorizes public schools into five groups based on the poverty of the communities they serve:  

• Quintile 1: The poorest schools, serving the poorest 20% of learners 
• Quintile 2: The second poorest schools, serving the next poorest 20% of learners 
• Quintile 3: The third poorest schools 
• Quintile 4: The fourth poorest schools 
• Quintile 5: The least poor schools, serving the least poor 20% of learners 

The quintile system is used to allocate financial resources to schools, with schools in poorer areas receiving more funds than schools in richer areas. Schools in quintiles 1, 2, and 3 are no-fee schools, while schools in quintiles 4 and 5 are fee-paying schools.