By The Weekly Vision Reporter
Oprah Winfrey has announced that the boarding school she founded in South Africa nearly two decades ago will close at the end of the 2027 academic year, with its operations transitioning to local authorities as she redirects her philanthropic efforts towards a broader scholarship programme.
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, which opened in 2007 for pupils in Grades 8 to 12, was born out of a conversation Winfrey had with Nelson Mandela in 2002. The tuition-free boarding school was established in partnership with the former South African President to provide educational opportunities for academically gifted girls from disadvantaged backgrounds.
When the residential campus closes at the end of the 2027 academic year, it will be handed over to South Africa’s Gauteng Department of Education, in accordance with the terms of the academy’s original partnership agreement. Pupils still enrolled at that time will be able to complete their education with uninterrupted financial support, while those unable to finish their studies at the academy will be placed in other leading schools, with their tuition fees paid in full by Winfrey.
In place of the campus, Winfrey plans to launch an expanded scholarship programme aimed at reaching significantly more girls than a single institution could accommodate. Her representative said the new model is expected to serve roughly twice as many girls.
Explaining her decision, Winfrey, 72, said the original vision had never been simply to build one school, but to invest in the potential of young women, adding that the mission “doesn’t end with one campus”. She said the organisation’s broader mission would continue through an initiative designed to expand educational opportunities for young women across South Africa.
Reflecting on the academy’s legacy, Winfrey said she was proud to see former pupils go on to become business leaders, lawyers, doctors, digital content creators, artists and chief executives. Since opening, the academy has graduated more than 1,000 students. The institution was reportedly built for KSh 5.2 billion.
