Oprah Winfrey might be known for her work in television, but she has been involved with all sorts of projects throughout her career. However, news has come out that one famous project, a school she developed in South Africa, will be coming to an end. In a recent statement, both Winfrey and a rep explained what was going on.
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy For Girls First Opened Its Doors In 2007
Winfrey first rose to fame with her namesake talk show, which started nationally in 1986. Running for 25 seasons, she later launched her own television cable network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, or “OWN,” in 2011.
In 2002, Winfrey started plans for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, a boarding school for girls, in South Africa. The school opened up its doors in 2007 and was developed to cater towards girls who were from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
However, nearly two decades after the school opened, it has been announced that the school would be closing. Following this, operations will transition back to local authorities.
In its place, Winfrey hopes to focus on an “expanded” scholarship program for girls there, which she announced this week. Meanwhile, the school is expected to end its current operations by the end of 2027.
According to People, Winfrey shared, “The dream was never simply to build a school. It was to invest in the limitless potential of young women.”
The academy will remain as a school once government officials take it over. Two more classes of girls will still graduate, and the remaining students “will go to other top-tier schools with their tuition paid for in total by Ms. Winfrey through their graduation,” as shared by a rep.
A New Scholarship Program Will Follow In The School’s Footsteps
Winfrey continued, saying that her mission “doesn’t end with one campus. It continues in every girl whose future can be transformed through education.” She shared, “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 new scholarship program will start after the academy’s students have graduated. it was noted that the move hopes to extend beyond the reach of the school, noting, “Overall, there will be double the amount of girls who will have access to education through this model.”
The statement continued, “That is the core of the decision. To shift to this new model after seeing the success of the students [over] the past 20 years.” At this time, over 1,000 girls have graduated from Winfrey’s academy since its 2007 opening.
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.