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Nearly two decades after a conversation with Nelson Mandela inspired the idea, Oprah Winfrey is preparing to close the boarding school that became one of her most ambitious philanthropic projects in South Africa. In its place, she will launch a nationwide scholarship programme aimed at giving many more young women access to quality education.
Winfrey opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) in January 2007 after six years of planning. Built on a 22-acre campus, the school includes science and computer laboratories, a library and a wellness centre, offering academically gifted girls from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to receive a world-class education. The vision for the academy began in 2002 during a conversation between Winfrey and the late South African president Nelson Mandela.
That chapter is now drawing to a close. OWLAG announced it will stop operating as a residential school after the 2027 academic year, with the campus returning to the Gauteng Department of Education in line with the original partnership agreement. Winfrey will instead fund scholarships for high-achieving young women to attend leading schools across South Africa.
According to a spokesperson, the scholarship programme is expected to reach twice as many students as the academy’s single-campus model. The representative said expanding access to education after witnessing the success of the academy’s students over the past 20 years was the driving force behind the decision.
The transition will be gradual rather than immediate. The academy will graduate two more classes before closing its boarding operations, while students who remain enrolled will transfer to other top-tier schools with their tuition fully paid by Winfrey through graduation. The academy also said every current student will continue receiving academic, financial and personal support, while alumni will still have access to mentorship, leadership development and higher education resources.
Winfrey said the decision reflects an expansion of the academy’s mission, not its end.
“The dream was never simply to build a school,” she said. “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. I’m excited that this next chapter will allow us to reach even more young women across South Africa and continue the promise that began more than 20 years ago.”
Since opening its doors, OWLAG has educated academically talented girls from underprivileged communities across South Africa, combining rigorous academics with leadership training and a strong emphasis on confidence, compassion and purpose. More than 1,000 students have graduated from the academy. Winfrey has said she invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the school over the years, in addition to the roughly $40 million reportedly spent to build the campus.
A 2024 independent study found that 99 percent of graduates continued to higher education, while nearly 90 percent said the academy opened opportunities they otherwise would not have had. Another 94 percent said their education had a positive impact on their families. Former students have gone on to careers as doctors, engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and corporate executives in South Africa and around the world.
Lebogang Maile, Gauteng’s MEC for Education, Arts, Culture and Recreation, praised Winfrey for her longstanding commitment to educating South African girls, saying her contribution extends well beyond the academy’s campus. Under the transition plan, ownership of the school’s assets will transfer to the Gauteng Department of Education, which says it will preserve the academy’s legacy of academic excellence and leadership development for future generations of students.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah