Oprah’s South African girls’ academy will close in 2027 as she expands access to education
TheGrio...
Winfrey says the move is an evolution of her mission and will help more young women pursue their education.
Nearly 20 years after Oprah Winfrey opened a school that she has called her greatest legacy, the media mogul is charting a new course for her mission to educate young women in South Africa, one she says will reach far more girls than a single campus ever could.
According to PEOPLE, Winfrey announced this week that the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls will end operations in its current form at the close of 2027, transitioning the facility back to the provincial government, which will continue running it as a school. In its place, Winfrey will launch an expanded scholarship program aimed at broadening access to education across the country.
“The dream was never simply to build a school. It was to invest in the limitless potential of young women,” Winfrey, 72, said in her statement, per the outlet. She framed the shift not as an ending but an evolution, adding that her mission “doesn’t end with one campus” and that she was “excited that this next chapter will allow us to reach even more young women across South Africa.”
The transition will be gradual and, notably, leaves no student behind. PEOPLE reported that the academy will graduate two more classes, after which remaining students will be placed in other top-tier schools with their full tuition covered by Winfrey through graduation.
A representative for Winfrey said the scholarship model will ultimately allow “double the amount of girls” to access education, calling that expanded reach “the core of the decision.”
The impact of the academy since its 2007 opening has been considerable. More than 1,000 girls have graduated, and the outlet noted that Winfrey personally invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the institution, which served young women from disadvantaged communities. A study cited by the academy found that nearly all surveyed graduates went on to pursue higher education and said it transformed their families.