Oprah Winfrey is ending the chapter she started nearly two decades ago in South Africa.
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg will close at the end of the 2027 academic year. The campus will then be handed back to local education authorities under the original agreement.
Winfrey, 72, announced the decision this week. Students who have not yet graduated will be given full scholarships to continue at other schools.
Why the school was created
Winfrey launched OWLAG in 2007 after meeting Nelson Mandela in 2002. The goal was to educate girls from under-privileged backgrounds. More than 1,000 students have graduated since it opened. The $40m campus in Henley-on-Klip drew attention for its scale, it included two theatres, a yoga studio and a beauty salon, and critics questioned whether the funds could have helped more students nationwide.
The school also faced controversy months after opening when students accused a former staff member of abuse. She was later cleared on all charges.
What happens next
The foundation says closure is not about mismanagement. Instead, Winfrey plans to expand the work through scholarships for academically talented girls across South Africa to attend leading schools.
“The dream was never simply to build a school,” Winfrey said in a statement. “It was to invest in the limitless potential of young women. That mission doesn’t end with one campus.”
Gauteng’s education department says it will take over the campus and is “committed to preserving and advancing the academy’s legacy.” What the site will be used for has not been confirmed. There are currently 281 students enrolled.
Graduates have gone on to work as doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists and executives. Andronica Klaas, class of 2012 and now a senior engineering lead at Meta, said the school taught her that “preparation, character and purpose mattered more than where I came from.”
Winfrey says the next phase is about reach. “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.”
