The United States talk-show host Oprah Winfrey has announced that the school for girls, which she launched in South Africa in 2007, will close next year.
In a statement, Winfrey said that the end of the 2027 academic year, the expansive boarding school campus near Johannesburg is to be handed over to local education authorities as per the original agreement.
Students enrolled at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) who will not have graduated when it closes will be offered full scholarships elsewhere.
More than 1,000 girls have graduated from the school aimed at those from under-privileged backgrounds and inspired after Winfrey met anti-apartheid icon and former South African President Nelson Mandela in 2002.
Since opening its doors, the elite school – built at a cost of $40m (£20m) and located in the village of Henley-on-Klip south of Johannesburg – has not been without scandal, sparking rumours about the reason for its closure.
But a PR consultant working for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation denied online speculation it was closing because of mismanagement.
The foundation said Winfrey intended to continue with her education project by funding in a scholarship programme for academically talented girls from communities across the country to go to leading schools.
“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. It continues in every girl whose future can be transformed through education.”
“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. It is not known what the OWLAG campus will be used for once it is returned to the local authorities, but Gauteng province’s education department says it is “committed to preserving and advancing the academy’s legacy.”
“We will ensure that this exceptional institution continues to serve the people of Gauteng while honouring the vision upon which it was established,” it said.
There are currently 281 students enrolled at the school.
