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Appointment of new Head of Academy
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=105&art_id=vn20090922103410784C305709
Anne van Zyl
Girls Boarding School, 450 Students in Grades 7-12
The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation
conducted an international search for an outstanding educational leader
who will preserve and advance the Academy’s mission of developing a new
generation of South African women leaders who, by virtue of their
education, character, and skills, will lead the charge to positively
transform themselves, their country, and the larger world around them.
To accomplish this goal, the Academy provides a
rigorous and supportive educational environment for academically
talented girls who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Academy strives to equip its students with the intellectual and
social skills necessary to assume positions of leadership in South
African society and beyond.
History
On January 2, 2007, the Oprah Winfrey Leadership
Academy for Girls - South Africa officially opened with approximately
75 girls each in grades 7 and 8. The Academy has admitted a new class of
7 th graders each January and is now educating 7th, 8th, 9th
and 10 th graders. The Academy will grow by one grade each
year until it reaches full capacity in 2011, with approximately 450
girls in grades 7 through 12. The Academy operates on a 3-term academic
calendar, from January to November of each year. The Academy is a fully
residential boarding school that is 100% tuition-free, and the school
is supported by The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation in
Chicago, Illinois.
September 22 2009
at 02:19PM |
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By Mogomotsi Magome
She has been involved with teaching and guiding girls for most
of her career, and has now been entrusted by one of the most
influential women in the world with specially selected girls in
the country.
Anne van Zyl, former principal of Pretoria Girls' High, was last
month appointed as the head of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership
Academy for Girls.
The school was started by Winfrey in 2007 to provide specially
chosen girls from disadvantaged backgrounds with leadership
qualities and rare opportunities.
Van Zyl is highly regarded within the education fraternity, with
some of the highlights of her career being her leadership role
in Pretoria Girls' High, the first white state school in the
then Northern Transvaal (now Gauteng) to open its doors to all
races.Speaking from Cape Town, where she is currently the
head of Bridge House School in Franschhoek, Van Zyl said she was
excited about joining the academy and contributing to the
development of young girls in the country.
But what made her decide to return to her profession when she
had already decided to go into retirement when her contract with
Bridge House comes to an end this year?
"I have always been passionate about girls' education and this
is very special because you have girls who come from a
disadvantaged background and they have been given a great
opportunity.
"I had to be convinced by people around me who really believed
that I still had a lot to offer this country, and they succeeded
because I eventually changed my mind," said Van Zyl.
The school has been embroiled in controversy since it enrolled
its first 150 pupils in January 2007.
A court case involving one of the matrons at the school, Tiny
Virginia Makopo, is currently under way after she allegedly
physically and sexually assaulted some of the girls.
"These incidents have certainly affected the image of the
school, but I believe they have not changed the school
internally.
"The girls and the staff at the school are a really committed
bunch of people and they know what they are there for, so I am
really looking forward to working with them.
"I think the most immediate challenge at the moment will be to
prepare our first matric class of 2011.
"We have to make sure that they are prepared and that the school
does well in its first matric results.
"The girls must also be prepared for entrance into university,
and that will be one of our most immediate challenges," said Van
Zyl.
She said the opportunity offered by Winfrey was a special one.
"It gives the pupils a chance to follow in the footsteps of the
many female role models this country has produced.
"If you look at people like Mamphela Ramphela and what she has
done for this country, surely they also want to be people of
such a stature and achieve great things in their lives," she
said.
Van Zyl admits that her passion for girls' education might have
been influenced by the fact that she herself attended a girls'
school.
"When girls are in a particular environment by themselves, such
as in a girls' school, it gives them an opportunity to develop
leadership skills and to take responsibility of various
situations.
"Some of the opportunities might not have necessarily been there
with their male counterparts around," she added.
Van Zyl will start her job as head of the academy in January. |
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