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The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls(OWLAG) will end its operations at the conclusion of the 2027 academic year, nearly two decades after opening in South Africa. The school’s 52-acre campus and operations will then transition to the Gauteng Department of Education under the terms of the original agreement behind the academy.

The school opened in 2007 in Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg, in Gauteng province. Winfrey announced the transition on July 29, 2026, stating that OWLAG will end its operations after its final two classes graduate. The Gauteng provincial government will assume control of the campus, which a representative for Winfrey said will continue operating as a school under local authorities.

Students in the academy’s final two graduating classes will remain at OWLAG, while any students who have not yet graduated when its operations end will transfer to other schools with their tuition fully funded by Winfrey through graduation. Gauteng education officials have also said students will receive uninterrupted financial and educational support during the transition.

Winfrey’s educational work in South Africa will continue through an expanded national scholarship program for academically talented girls from disadvantaged communities; so, rather than bringing students from across the country to one residential campus, this scholarship program will provide scholarships for them to attend leading schools closer to their communities. A representative for Winfrey said the model is expected to double the number of girls receiving educational support.

“The dream was never simply to build a school, It was to invest in the limitless potential of young women.” Winfrey said in the July 29 statement announcing the transition.

Winfrey began pursuing the idea after a meeting with Nelson Mandela in 2000, during which they discussed poverty and the role education could play in creating opportunities for girls in South Africa. The project developed over the next six years through a partnership involving Winfrey, Mandela, and South Africa’s national and provincial education authorities. The Gauteng Department of Education helped identify the 52-acre site in Henley-on-Klip, while Winfrey assumed responsibility for financing, developing, and operating the school through her charitable foundation.

Construction and development cost approximately $40 million, which Winfrey paid from her personal wealth rather than through public funding or outside donations. Reuters reported at the academy’s opening that she had financed the project “out of her own pocket.” The investment covered the construction of the residential campus, its academic facilities, student housing, and the systems required to operate the tuition-free school.

The academy formally opened on January 2, 2007, in Henley-on-Klip. Mandela attended the ceremony alongside South African government officials and international guests, including entertainers Tina Turner and Mariah Carey. Standing before the academy’s inaugural class, Winfrey described the opening as “the fulfillment of my work on Earth.”

The campus included 21 classrooms, six science and computer laboratories, a 10,000-volume library, modern dormitories, a health center, athletic facilities, and a 600-seat theater. Some commentators questioned whether the $40 million could have assisted more students if it had been distributed among existing schools rather than used to build one residential academy. Others criticized amenities such as its beauty salon, yoga facilities, and high-quality student accommodations as excessive in a country where many public schools lacked basic resources.

In a Newsweek interview published in January 2007, shortly after the academy opened, Winfrey rejected the suggestion that girls from disadvantaged communities did not need or deserve an exceptionally designed campus. “These girls deserve to be surrounded by beauty, and beauty does inspire,” she said. Her response reflected her belief that the school’s physical environment was part of its educational mission rather than separate from it.

She connected that decision to the deprivation she experienced during her own childhood, explaining that she wanted the academy to provide its students with both educational opportunity and a sense of dignity.

“I wanted this to be a place of honor for them because these girls have never been treated with kindness,” Winfrey said. “They’ve never been told they are pretty or have wonderful dimples. I wanted to hear those things as a child.”

Born into poverty in rural Mississippi, Winfrey experienced sexual abuse and instability before moving to Nashville to live with her father. She later attended Tennessee State University on a scholarship and began working in broadcasting while still a student. Her experiences shaped her decision to establish a school for girls who had demonstrated academic ability and leadership potential despite facing poverty or trauma.

Winfrey later built The Oprah Winfrey Show into a nationally syndicated program and expanded her career through Harpo Productions, publishing, film, and the Oprah Winfrey Network. In 2026, Forbes ranked her first on its list of the 250 greatest living self-made Americans, which considered financial success, the obstacles candidates had overcome, and their influence on American society. Forbes estimated her net worth at approximately $3.4 billion.

The academy’s academic results became central to Winfrey’s defense of the project. All 44 members of OWLAG’s Class of 2025 passed South Africa’s National Senior Certificate examinations and earned bachelor’s-degree passes, meeting the minimum academic requirements to apply to bachelor’s-degree programs at South African universities. The class earned an average score of 76 percent, while 43 percent of its subject results exceeded 80 percent.

More than 1,000 students have attended and received educational support through OWLAG since it opened, according to the Gauteng government. Publicly available accounts differ, however, on the number who have formally graduated. The academy’s website lists 528 graduates, while recent news reports have cited totals ranging from more than 500 to 870 graduates. Because those figures have not been reconciled, a precise graduation total could not be independently confirmed.

Graduates have continued their studies at universities in South Africa and abroad, including Spelman College, Wellesley College, the University of Oxford, and Stanford University. The academy’s first class of 72 students graduated in January 2012, five years after entering the school.

The school also faced a serious crisis during its first year when several students accused a dormitory matron of physical and sexual abuse. Winfrey traveled to South Africa, met with students and parents, apologized for the failures that allowed the alleged mistreatment to occur, and commissioned an investigation. The former employee was later acquitted of criminal charges in 2010.

OWLAG will continue operating through the end of 2027 as its remaining students finish their education. Administrative work involving the transfer of its land, facilities, and other assets is already underway, according to the Gauteng government. Once the transfer is complete, Winfrey’s foundation will direct its educational funding toward the expanded scholarship program, while provincial authorities assume responsibility for the campus and determine how it will serve future students.

Author Bio: Zachary Burden is a junior at Boston College pursuing a double major in political science and economics. He serves as Co-Head of the Opinions section of The Gavel and as a Greeting Captain for the Student Admission Program.