What African Leadership Academy (ALA) Pre-University Scholarship actually covers.
The African Leadership Academy (ALA) is a unique pre-university programme in Johannesburg, South Africa that offers the continent's most outstanding young leaders, aged 15-18, an extraordinary two-year educational experience combining the Cambridge International A-Level curriculum with intensive leadership training, entrepreneurship education, and African studies. 97% of admitted students receive significant financial aid, with full scholarships available for eligible low-income families covering tuition (US$30,900/year), accommodation, meals, and uniforms. Approximately 130 students are selected annually from thousands of applicants across all 54 African countries and beyond. ALA seeks young people who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential, entrepreneurial spirit, dedication to public service, and passion for Africa. The ALA experience is transformational, giving scholars access to an elite network of Africa's future leaders and positioning them for admission to leading universities worldwide, including Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, and others. ALA alumni have gone on to become entrepreneurs, politicians, scientists, artists, and social changemakers across Africa.
Who can apply.
Open to secondary applicants seeking to study in South Africa. Eligible nationalities are listed below.
46 more eligible countries — full list available on the official application page.
Every academic discipline is accepted.
This programme does not restrict by field. Research proposals across humanities, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine are all accepted.
From here to submitted.
Scholar Africa helps you discover, shortlist, and track. The application itself is submitted on the provider's site.
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Save itAdd this to your shortlist so we can recommend similar scholarships and remind you of the deadline.
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Prepare your documentsMost providers ask for the same set — transcripts, references, a personal statement, ID. Use the checklist below to track progress across all your applications.
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Apply on the provider's siteSubmit on the provider's site before November 30, 2026 · 135 days left.
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Track the outcomeAdd to your tracker so you can update the status as the provider responds (shortlisted, interview, decision).
Document checklist
Checks are local to this device — they're not stored. Always confirm exact requirements on the provider's official application page.
What we checked, when we checked it.
Scholar Africa runs a link-liveness check on every listing before it goes live and an admin manually reviews every scholarship submitted by providers. African Leadership Academy (ALA) Pre-University Scholarship has been reviewed and verified by our team. Five deeper checks (contact, organisation, winners, third-party, formal audit) are on the roadmap.
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Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.