The residential campus of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) will end operations in its current form after the 2027 academic year. The site will be handed over to the Gauteng Department of Education per the original agreement, with the foundation shifting focus to broader scholarships (expected to support roughly twice as many girls at other top schools). Official statements frame this as a planned expansion of impact, not a crisis-driven closure; local education officials have commented positively on preserving the academic legacy.
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Location: 534 Wargrave South Road, Henley on Klip, Meyerton, Gauteng Province (near Johannesburg).
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Founding & Purpose: Founded by Oprah Winfrey after discussions with Nelson Mandela; a boarding school for academically gifted girls (grades 8–12) from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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Cost & Facilities: Built at a reported cost of ~$40 million; includes modern classrooms, labs, library, theaters, and other facilities (criticized by some as overly lavish for the number of students served).
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Student Impact: Has educated more than 1,000 girls since opening. Current students who have not graduated will receive continued financial and academic support.
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Timeline of Major Events:
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2000–2002: Winfrey discusses education with Mandela and commits to building a girls’ school in South Africa.
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January 2007: OWLAG opens with an inaugural group (~150 places; first graduating class ~72 in 2011); opening attended by Mandela.
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Late 2007 (first year): Multiple students accuse dorm matron Virginia “Tiny” Makopo (also reported as Makgobo/Mokgobo) of physical and sexual abuse (kissing, fondling, assault). She is arrested and charged. Winfrey travels to SA, meets parents/officials, investigates, apologizes, and stresses student safety.
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2009: School suspends/expels several students for sexually harassing or fondling classmates (second sex-related incident).
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October 2010: Makopo is acquitted of all 14 charges (indecent assault, assault, etc.). Winfrey publicly expresses disappointment at the verdict while praising the girls who testified. A related defamation lawsuit by a former headmistress is settled around this period.
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February 2011: A 17-year-old student is taken to hospital with a dead newborn in a bag; police investigate, believing the birth occurred at the academy.
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Ongoing years: Occasional later complaints (e.g., staff claims of abuse of power or learner mistreatment reported around 2023), but no new criminal cases on the scale of 2007.
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