Oprah Winfrey announced that she will close the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa at the end of the 2027 academic year, marking the conclusion of nearly two decades of direct operation of the residential boarding school. Following the completion of the current school year in 2027, the campus will be returned to South Africa’s Gauteng Department of Education, as specified in the original partnership agreement established when the school was founded.
The media mogul explained that while the physical campus will close, her commitment to educating young women in South Africa will continue through an expanded scholarship program designed to reach substantially more students across the country. “The dream was never simply to build a school. It was to invest in the limitless potential of young women. That mission doesn’t end with one campus,” Winfrey said in a statement. “The dream that began with one academy will now reach even farther, opening doors for even more young women across South Africa through scholarships and educational partnerships.”
The school, located in Henley-on-Klip outside Johannesburg, opened in January 2007 after Winfrey pledged to build an educational institution following conversations with former South African President Nelson Mandela beginning in 2000. Winfrey broke ground on the school in 2002 and invested approximately $40 million in creating a 22-acre campus that included science and computer laboratories, a library, theater, and wellness center. The school was designed specifically to provide a world-class education to academically talented girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Since opening its doors, the academy has graduated more than 1,000 students. According to an independent 2024 study, 99 percent of surveyed graduates went on to pursue higher education, an extraordinary achievement in a country where roughly 20 percent of students typically attend college. Many graduates have gone on to careers as doctors, lawyers, engineers, executives, entrepreneurs, and business leaders throughout South Africa and internationally.
Winfrey expressed her pride in the students’ accomplishments, saying she was “dazzled and in awe of them” as they span every area of the workforce as businesswomen, lawyers, doctors, digital content creators, artists, managers, and CEOs.
The school’s journey has not been without significant challenges. Just 10 months after its celebrated opening attended by Nelson Mandela, Tina Turner, Sydney Poitier, and Spike Lee, the institution faced a major scandal when abuse allegations surfaced. A dormitory matron, Virginia Tiny Makopo, was arrested and faced charges related to sexual and physical abuse allegations involving multiple students. Winfrey flew to South Africa with private investigators to personally investigate the situation and speak with affected students, describing the experience as “one of the most devastating, if not the most devastating, experiences of my life.”
The school subsequently faced additional controversies, including a 2009 incident in which seven students were suspended for misconduct involving allegations of sexual harassment among classmates, and a 2011 situation in which the body of a dead infant was found in a 17-year-old student’s possession. Despite these scandals, the academy steadily rebuilt its reputation and emerged as one of South Africa’s most successful educational institutions for disadvantaged young women.
Under the new arrangement, current students will be able to complete their education with full financial support through graduation. Students who cannot finish their studies at the academy before the 2027 cutoff will be placed at other top-tier schools throughout South Africa, with Winfrey covering their full tuition through completion. A representative for Winfrey stated that the new scholarship model will “double the amount of girls” who will have access to education through her program.
Winfrey’s representative explained that this shift represents “the core of the decision” to transition after two decades of demonstrated success. By moving from a single residential campus to a broader scholarship program distributed across multiple schools throughout South Africa, Winfrey’s organization aims to expand its educational impact significantly. The new initiative will support academically talented girls from communities across the country, building on the legacy of the academy while reaching a larger population of students.
“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,” Winfrey said. The transition represents a strategic evolution of her educational mission in South Africa, shifting from operating a single institution to partnering with existing schools to provide scholarships and educational support to more students across broader geographic areas.