ENRICHMENT – Da Vinci Decathlon
The Da Vinci Decathlon, started in 2002 by Knox Grammar School in Sydney, has grown to become an international event. The competition starts on the day of registration – places are limited and generally fill within a few hours. The NSW competition had more than 80 schools participating on each day with more than 1000 students competing against each other.
The competition ran over two days, with Years 7 and 8 on Tuesday 12 May and Years 9, 10 and 11 on Wednesday 13 May. Teams competing on the same day completed the same challenges, none of which were easy. The theme for 2026 was Machines and Mechanics which was embedded throughout all of the challenges.
Working in teams of eight, students were faced with ten challenges throughout the day, covering the disciplines of Art and Poetry, Cartography, Code Breaking, Creative Producers, Engineering, English, Ideation, Legacy, Mathematics and Science. The day is broken into three sessions so several of the challenges have to run concurrently. Teamwork is the key, as is the ability to think laterally and creatively.
- Year 8 placed 11th in Art and Poetry
- Year 9 placed 4th in Cartography
- Year 10 placed 14th in Creative Producers
Congratulations to all of our teams for your work in preparing for the challenge and for the enthusiasm, determination and cooperation that you displayed on the day. Sincere thanks to Ms Phoebe Johannesen and Ms Zoe Collis for assistance with preparing the teams for the competition.
Kaitlyn McDougall
Newman Coordinator
A highlight for our team was placing 11th in Art & Poetry. For this challenge, we built a 3D paper robot decorated with flowers and covered in poetry. During the final minutes of the challenge, I somehow became the team’s “tape dispenser,” cutting pieces as fast as possible to keep the model together in a very frantic rush. With so many schools competing, we were really proud to see our creative work recognised. Special credit to my teammates, Amelia and Ondine. To conclude, this experience taught us how to work as a team under pressure. We all had different strengths, and by working together, we achieved things none of us could have accomplished alone. Our team walked out of Knox Grammar’s Great Hall tired, proud and we already started planning how we could place in at least one subject’s top three next year, which is why we hope to start a Da Vinci Club and come back ready to win bigger.
