Posted inArmidale, Education

New England students go head to head in the da Vinci Decathlon

Students from across the region fill the TAS Memorial Hall at the 2024 da Vinci Decathlon

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