A competition that will see teams from 17 regional schools go head-to-head in ten academic challenges returns to The Armidale School starting today, Wednesday, April 2.
Now in it’s 12th year, the Northern NSW da Vinci Decathlon will bring together more than 400boys and girls from department, independent and Catholic schools who will work in teams of eight to tackle the challenges, each falling with the subject areas of Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography and Legacy (significant people, inventions and events).
Each year the Decathlon has an overarching theme – this year, being ‘sustainability’.
“Whether that be environmental sustainability, the longevity of an engineering project, or even the importance of social and cultural sustainability for a community to survive – there will be different perspectives along the way,” said TAS organiser Mrs Donella Tutt.
Devised by Knox Grammar School, da Vinci Decathlons are now held in various centres around Australia and in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. TAS has been partnering Knox in delivering the event to the region for more than a decade, and its appeal hasn’t waned, Mrs Tutt says.
“There’s always an electrifying atmosphere as students allocate who will do each challenge depending on their individual strengths, then work against the clock to complete the challenges, all in a competitive environment.”
Along the way are general knowledge quizzes and other games to add to the fun. Compering the sessions and fulfilling quizmaster duties will be Year 11 TAS students who are former da Vinci graduates.
Schools from Armidale, Inverell, Coonabarabran, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Tamworth and Walcha will be attending. Years 7 and 8 will take part on Wednesday 2 April; Years 5 and 6 on Thursday 3 April and the Decathlon culminates on Friday 4 April with the Year 9 and 10 competitions.
Schools attending the 2025 Northern NSW da Vinci Decathlon are:
Armidale
The Armidale School
Armidale City Public School
Armidale Secondary College
Armidale Waldorf School
Ben Venue Public School
Martins Gully Public School
New England Girls’ School
O’Connor Catholic College
PLC Armidale
Inverell
Holy Trinity School
Gunnedah
St Mary’s College
Narrabri
Narrabri High School
Tamworth
Calrossy Anglican School
Walcha
St Patrick’s Primary School
Walcha Central School