Da Vinci Decathlon

In Week 2, over three days, teams of students from Years 5- 11 met in the piazza early each morning to make the trek to Knox Grammar for the first in-person da Vinci Decathlon since 2019. The event is back with a bang, with over 180 teams competing on Wednesday and nearly as many on the other days of the event. The da Vinci Decathlon is a very challenging competition that focuses on 10 fields of knowledge: Art & Poetry, Cartography, Code Breaking, Creative Producers, Engineering, English, Ideation, Legacy, Mathematics and Science.

We are very proud of all our teams, they showed great maturity, teamwork, and perseverance, particularly our Year 5 and Year 11 teams who managed to place in the top three for Engineering and Ideation respectively.

Below are some quotes from students:

The da Vinci Decathlon was a day full of fun no matter what discipline you were doing. As a team we collaborated to do the best we could but also ensuring we enjoyed ourselves. Aditi and I were lucky enough to place third in Ideation which was nice after all the hard work throughout the day. This experience has been one none of us will forget making memories and new friends along the way.

Zoe Kearns Year 11

Placing in Ideation was a very honourable and exciting moment for my team and me.

Aditi Kamath Year 11

Participating in the da Vinci Decathlon was an exhilarating journey of intellectual discovery, where teamwork and creativity blended seamlessly to solve captivating challenges. The competition’s stimulating atmosphere and diverse range of disciplines fostered a sense of camaraderie and growth, leaving lasting memories of triumph and achievement.

Jay Maree Yu Healy Year 9

Da Vinci was an amazing day full of new and inspiring things. I got to experience working with other people and made some new friends. I would love to do da Vinci again.

Chloe Liu Year 7

I enjoyed participating in da Vinci so much. It showed me critical thinking, thinking on the spot and thinking outside of the box.

Jorja Matthews Year 5

The da Vinci Decathlon is a yearly event with limited spaces, as such, teams are reshuffled each year with a focus on able students who are excellent team players who can cope with the competitive and fast paced atmosphere.

Matthew Mountford
Dean of Gifted Education – Science Teacher