By Charmaine Ndlela

The Gauteng Department of Education will take over the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls campus after the 2027 academic year as Oprah Winfrey shifts her education philanthropy to an expanded national scholarship programme in the country.

Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Lebogang Maile welcomed the transition on Thursday, saying the department would preserve the academy’s educational legacy when the property and facilities in Henley on Klip are transferred to the provincial government.

The handover is in line with the original partnership agreement under which the academy was established. Administrative processes are under way to facilitate the transfer.

Maile said the transition reflected the success of the academy’s nearly two decades of operation and created an opportunity for its work to reach more girls across South Africa.

“Since opening its doors in 2007, the Academy has empowered more than 1,000 academically gifted learners from disadvantaged communities through an education founded on academic excellence, leadership, integrity, compassion and purpose,” he said.

Maile thanked Winfrey for her investment in the education and leadership development of young women, saying the academy had created opportunities and transformed the lives of learners and their families.

He said educating girls strengthened families and communities and contributed to South Africa’s social and economic development.

“The Gauteng Department of Education is committed to preserving and advancing the Academy’s legacy of academic excellence, ethical leadership and educational opportunity,” Maile said.

The department said every learner currently enrolled at the academy would be able to complete her education with uninterrupted academic, financial and personal support.

Under the new model, Winfrey’s initiative will support academically talented girls at leading schools across South Africa, broadening access beyond a single residential campus.

“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,” Winfrey said in the academy’s statement.

“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.”

The academy opened in 2007 and has since educated more than 1,000 young women from disadvantaged communities.

A study commissioned in 2024 found that 99% of surveyed graduates progressed to higher education. Nearly nine in 10 said the academy had provided opportunities they would not otherwise have received, while 94% said their education had positively transformed their families.

Throughout the transition, the academy will continue supporting current learners and alumnae through mentorship, leadership development and higher-education programmes.

INSIDE EDUCATION

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