OWLAG Scholarship 2027, Requirements & Application

Key facts

Status: Applications closed Closed 6 March 2026
Provider: OWLAG
Study level: High school
Academic year: 2027
Last checked: September 2026

Two important changes.

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

Closed · applications closed on 6 March 2026 Latest update ↓

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) opened in 2007 at Henley-on-Klip, south of Johannesburg, in fulfilment of a promise Oprah Winfrey made to Nelson Mandela. It is a residential high school that has given full scholarships to about 60 girls a year from low-income families, covering tuition, boarding, uniforms, meals and everything else, from Grade 8 to Matric, with support continuing through university.

About the OWLAG Scholarship

Every OWLAG learner is on a full scholarship. It covers:

Tuition and boarding from Grade 8 to Grade 12.
Uniforms, meals, textbooks, technology and extramural activities.
Health care and counselling.
Support through university, including help with applications and funding.

The academy receives about 6 000 applications a year and accepts roughly 1% of them.

OWLAG Scholarship eligibility requirements

For the final school intake, applicants had to:

Be a South African girl in Grade 7, progressing to Grade 8 in 2027.
Have at least 70% for both mathematics and English in the Grade 6 final report.
Come from a household with a combined income of no more than about R10 000 a month before deductions.
Show leadership potential, resilience and a commitment to serving their community.

How the application process worked

A school principal or teacher nominated the learner through the online nomination tool, by early March.
Nominated learners completed the online application, which takes about ten minutes, and uploaded their Grade 6 final report, the current year’s reports, a certified ID or birth certificate, the parents’ or guardians’ IDs and proof of household income.
Shortlisted learners sat assessments and attended interviews, and families were visited before final selection.

The process was run by Duja Consulting on behalf of the academy. Expect the new expanded scholarship to follow a similar nomination-and-application model.

OWLAG Scholarship closing date

The 2027 intake closed on 30 March 2026. There will be no further intake into the academy itself. The closing date for the first round of the expanded scholarship programme has not been announced; we will update this page when it is.

Contact details

Scholarship administrator: Duja Consulting (Pty) Ltd
Email: scholarship@duja.co.za
Telephone: 012 460 9824
Website: www.owlag.co.za

Families looking for funded places at good high schools should see our list of high school bursaries and scholarships in South Africa.

FAQs

1. Is OWLAG still taking applications? +

No. Applications for the 2027 Grade 8 intake closed on 30 March 2026 (nominations closed 6 March 2026) and the selection process is under way. The academy has announced it will close after the 2027 academic year, so this was its final school intake.

2. What happens after the school closes? +

The Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation is expanding its scholarship programme to place academically talented girls from low-income families at leading schools across South Africa, with the aim of supporting about twice as many girls as the academy did. The Henley-on-Klip campus returns to the Gauteng Department of Education.

3. Who qualified for the academy? +

Girls in Grade 7 progressing to Grade 8, with at least 70% in mathematics and English in their Grade 6 final report, from households earning no more than about R10 000 a month, who showed leadership potential.

4. How were applications made? +

By nomination from a school, then an online application handled by Duja Consulting, followed by assessments and interviews. Fewer than 1% of the roughly 6 000 annual applicants were accepted.

5. How do I apply for the new scholarship? +

Details have not been published yet. Contact Duja Consulting, which administers the programme, at scholarship@duja.co.za or 012 460 9824, and watch owlag.co.za for the 2028 call.

6. What other high school scholarships exist? +

See our list of high school bursaries and scholarships in South Africa, which includes the Allan Gray Orbis, Make a Difference Leadership Foundation and Moshal programmes.

Update note (checked September 2026): two important changes. First, applications for the 2027 Grade 8 intake are closed: nominations closed on 6 March 2026 and applications on 30 March 2026, and selection is under way. Second, on 31 July 2026 the academy announced that it will close after the 2027 academic year. The campus returns to the Gauteng Department of Education, and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation will instead expand its scholarship programme to fund girls at leading schools across the country, aiming to reach about twice as many girls. Details of that new programme have not yet been published.

This round is not open right now. Check the provider’s own site for the next round.

Visit the provider’s website