Oprah picks SA teens

2006-08-21 09:14

Cobus Coetzee

Johannesburg - Bronwyn Rance from Edenpark felt like a movie star on Sunday.

There were bright lights, ten television cameras and numerous photographers crowding the auditorium's passages.

But she was not the only one.

About 150 teenaged girls jumped for joy after talk show host Oprah Winfrey announced that they would be the first group of pupils to enter her posh school at Henley-on-Klip near Meyerton.

The school is called the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls South Africa.

"I have never felt so happy. Even my mother and them are smiling all the time," said Bronwyn.

Oprah decided six years ago to start an academy for girls from previously disadvantaged communities. She spent more than R280m on the school, which boasts a library, a gym, a hostel and hairdressing salon.

Oprah grew up as a poor child. "I grew up with my grandmother. We had almost nothing, but my grandmother believed I had to give back what I received," she said.

The school will open its doors on January 2 2007. The girls were screened by Oprah herself and they will attend the school free of charge.

- Beeld