Oprah Winfrey Is Closing Her South Africa Girls’ Academy After 20 Years

After two decades of operation, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa is set to close. The boarding school, established to serve disadvantaged young women, has functioned as a prominent educational fixture in the region since its inception. While the facility is shutting down, the transition involves a strategic pivot in philanthropic focus. According to Yahoo News New Zealand, the objective of this closure is to reach a greater number of young women through the implementation of a new scholarship program.

This shift moves away from the maintenance of a single physical boarding school toward a broader distribution of educational support. Financial details regarding the institution are noted in coverage from The Times, which references a $40 million valuation of the boarding school. The closure coincides with broader economic reports from OkayAfrica regarding the impact of recent U.S. tariffs on seven African economies, though the news sources do not link the school's specific administrative decision to these regional trade developments. Broad coverage from BBC News, ABC7 Chicago, and Business Insider Africa marks the conclusion of the academy's 20-year era.

Information regarding the exact timeline for the final wind-down of operations or the specific criteria for the upcoming scholarship initiative is not yet specified in the current reports. Stakeholders are now looking to the planned scholarship program as the successor to the academy's long-standing residential model.