The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls – South Africa (OWLAG) is a boarding school for girls, grades 8–12, in Henley on Klip, Gauteng Province, South Africa. The school is a project begun by the American entrepreneur and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey in 2002, born out of a discussion she had with South African president Nelson Mandela in 2000. OWLAG opened in 2007 and its inaugural class of 72 girls graduated in 2011. Inspired by her own disadvantaged childhood, Winfrey stated that she founded the Leadership Academy to provide educational and leadership opportunities for academically gifted girls from impoverished backgrounds in South Africa who exhibited leadership qualities for making a difference in the world. She wanted to help girls who grew up like her, "economically disadvantaged, but not poor in mind or spirit". The school teaches the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) curriculum writes the South African National Senior Certificate. In May 2021, Lindiwe Tsope became the first graduate of the Academy to be awarded a PhD. Design and construction Structured as a campus, facilities include classrooms, computer and science laboratories, library, an auditorium/gymnasium, amphitheatre, sports fields, modern dormitories and a dining hall. The school was designed by Rose Mashabane Architects and built between 2006 and 2007 by Concor Construction. Criticisms and controversies Winfrey received much criticism surrounding the "extravagance" of the school, with mention, among other things, about the need for high thread-count sheets for the dormitory beds, a beauty salon, two theatres (one indoor, one outdoor) and a yoga classroom to educate girls in an impoverished region of South Africa. In an article about the school's unveiling, Allison Samuels of Newsweek questioned whether the $40 million spent might have benefited a far greater number of students had the money been spent with less emphasis on luxurious surroundings and more emphasis on practicality. Winfrey defended her decision to establish the Leadership Academy in South Africa by offering the following observation: I think the reason not just Africa but the world is in the state that it is because of a lack of leadership on all levels of government … and particularly in regard to schools and schooling for poor children. … The best way to effect change long term is to ... give children exposure and opportunity and nurture them to understand their own power and possibility. Rebecca Traister of Salon.com and Karen Russell of The Huffington Post wrote in defense