A leadership academy for South African girls that media magnate Oprah Winfrey founded in honor of a promise to the late former President Nelson Mandela will conclude operations at the end of the 2027 academic year, according to an announcement on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Oprah, 72, plans to shift her focus from running a single institution to funding a nationwide scholarship initiative that will roughly double the number of young women receiving educational support. The new approach represents a fundamental change in strategy after nearly two decades of operating the boarding facility.
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG), which serves students in grades eight through 12, will transfer its 52-acre campus near Johannesburg to the Gauteng provincial education department — a transition outlined in the original founding agreement. Winfrey’s charitable foundation has financed and managed the school since it opened.
Scholarships to Replace Single Institution
Instead of concentrating resources at one location, Oprah will fund scholarships for academically gifted girls to attend elite schools throughout South Africa. A representative explained that this model allows the philanthropist to support approximately twice as many students as the academy currently enrolls.
All 281 students currently attending will complete their education without interruption. Those who have not yet graduated when the doors close will transfer to other premier institutions with full tuition coverage from Oprah through completion of their studies. The expanded scholarship program will launch after these students have transitioned.
Oprah said in a video that the vision never centered solely on building one school, but rather on releasing the unlimited potential of young women — a mission that transcends any single campus and continues through every student whose trajectory is altered by access to learning.
Origins in Conversations With Mandela
The school’s roots reach back to 2002, when Winfrey and Mandela, the anti-apartheid icon who became South Africa’s president, talked about education’s power to transform girls’ futures. Those discussions laid the groundwork for an institution targeting students from under-privileged communities. Mandela attended the opening ceremony when OWLAG welcomed its first class in 2007.
Constructed in the village of Henley-on-Klip at a reported expense of $40 million, the facility features 21 classrooms, six science and computer labs, a library holding 10,000 volumes, and a 600-seat theater spread across its grounds. Provincial officials have not yet disclosed their plans for the property once the handover is complete.
Lebogang Maile, the provincial minister for education, said current students will finish their schooling with continuous financial backing. The department stated it is committed to preserving and advancing the academy’s legacy and ensuring the institution continues serving Gauteng’s residents.
Controversies and Accomplishments
Turmoil struck shortly after the 2007 opening when multiple students accused a dormitory matron of physical and sexual abuse. Oprah traveled to South Africa to meet with the students and their families, delivered a public apology, and commissioned an independent investigation. The matron faced criminal proceedings that ended with her acquittal in 2010.
Critics also questioned the campus’s opulence from the outset, pointing to amenities that reportedly included two theaters, a yoga studio and a beauty salon. Some observers argued the funds could have benefited more students if distributed across the nation. Recent online speculation about mismanagement prompted a public relations consultant for the foundation to deny that any such issues influenced the closure decision.
Despite the scrutiny, foundation figures show more than 1,000 girls have earned diplomas from the academy. Graduates have matriculated at prestigious universities in South Africa, the United States and Europe, entering careers as doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists, executives and entrepreneurs.
Andronica Klaas, who graduated in 2012 and now serves as a senior engineering lead at Meta, said the school transformed her understanding of what she could achieve. “OWLAG convinced me that preparation, character and purpose mattered more than where I came from,” she said.
Reflecting on alumnae working across virtually every profession, Oprah said she is dazzled and in awe of graduates who have become businesswomen, lawyers, mothers, doctors, artists and chief executives. “The dream that began with one academy will now reach even farther,” she said, adding that the promise extends beyond any physical campus and continues to expand.
