tripartite system
The division of state-funded secondary education into three types of school: grammar…The division of state-funded secondary education into three types of school: grammar school, secondary technical school, and secondary modern school; used between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 to 2009 in Northern Ireland. Performance in the 11-plus examination determined which type of school a student would attend.
Meaning
1 senses(Ireland, UK, historical)The division of state-funded secondary education into three types of school: grammar school, secondary technical school, and secondary modern school; used between 1945 and the 1970s in England and Wales, and from 1947 to 2009 in Northern Ireland. Performance in the 11-plus examination determined which type of school a student would attend.