Nearly two decades after founding a leadership academy for disadvantaged girls in South Africa, Oprah Winfrey has announced that the school will close at the end of the 2027 academic year. According to the BBC, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) campus near Johannesburg will be handed over to local education authorities, in line with the original agreement.
Students who will not have completed their studies by then will receive full scholarships to continue their education at other schools. Since opening in 2007, the academy has graduated more than 1,000 girls. Winfrey launched the project after meeting anti-apartheid leader and former South African President Nelson Mandela in 2002.
Built at a reported cost of $40 million (£20 million) in Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg, the school has faced controversy over the years, prompting speculation that mismanagement had led to its closure. However, a public relations consultant for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation dismissed those claims, reports BBC.
The foundation said Winfrey would continue supporting education through a scholarship programme for academically talented girls from communities across South Africa, enabling them to attend leading schools.
“The dream was never simply to build a school,” Winfrey, 72, said in a statement. “It was to invest in the limitless potential of young women. That mission doesn’t end with one campus. It continues in every girl whose future can be transformed through education.”
She added that the next phase of the initiative would allow the foundation to support even more young women across South Africa.
Authorities have not announced how the campus will be used after it is transferred, but Gauteng’s education department said it remained committed to preserving the academy’s legacy and ensuring the institution continues to serve the province while honouring its founding vision.
The school attracted criticism when it opened because of its luxurious facilities, which reportedly included two theatres, a yoga studio and a beauty salon. Some questioned whether the funds could have benefited a larger number of students. Months after opening, several pupils accused a former staff member of abuse, though she was later cleared of all charges.
The academy currently has 281 students. According to Oprah Daily, many graduates have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists, executives and entrepreneurs. Among them is 2012 graduate Andronica Klaas, now a senior engineering lead at Meta, who said the campus was “filled with so much love and care” and taught her that “preparation, character and purpose mattered more than where I came from.”
