What is da Vinci Decathlon?
Inspired by one of the world’s greatest thinkers, Leonardo da Vinci, the Decathlon is an inter-school academic gala day designed to challenge and stimulate the minds of students. This is a wonderful enrichment activity that will require students to work collaboratively with teammates, as they problem solve and engage in a variety of disciplines. Students compete in teams of eight across 10 areas, including:
- Science — students will be provided with higher-level scientific concepts and be challenged to apply them
- Creative Producers — a sub-group from the team will have ten minutes to develop and present a 30- second commercial to promote a particular product
- English — spelling, word origins, definitions, scrabble, and writing
- Philosophy — dealing with logic, observations and evidence
- Mathematics — emphasis on problem-solving, number patterns and logic puzzles
- Engineering — a building task designed to test creativity and ingenuity
- Art and Poetry — the team will develop a poem plus a complementary work of art on a given theme
- Cartography — reading and designing maps
- Code Breaking — in the spirit of World War II, students will aim to decipher several codes
- General Knowledge — current affairs, issues, history, science, entertainment, sport and world facts
The da Vinci Decathlon was created by Knox Grammar School in 2005, and as the popularity of the event has grown, Regional da Vinci Decathlon events are now run annually across Australia.
SCAS Regional da Vinci Decathlon
St Columba Anglican School was proud to offer the inaugural Regional da Vinci Decathlon for schools in the Mid North Coast region in July 2015, following their appointment as a Chapter School by Knox Grammar. This event is now run annually and provides highly capable students across our region with the opportunity to be enriched and challenged across a range of academic disciplines.
What will the Decathlon involve for my school?
The Decathlon is held over three days with teams competing in year level groups in a Year 5 and 6 event, a Year 7 and 8 event, and a Year 9, 10 and 11 event. Schools will organise teams of eight students for the desired day(s). These teams can be from a single year level or a combined team from the relevant years. For example, on the Year 5 and 6 day you could send a team of eight Year 5 students and a team of eight Year 6 students, or you could send a team of students made up of both Year 5 and 6 students.
Cost is $240 per team of eight members ($30 per student). This will cover morning tea and a light lunch for students and staff, award medals, participation certificates, and administration costs. Prize trophies and certificates will be awarded to the top three teams on each day. All participants will receive a Participation Certificate. A staff member from each school will need to attend and will be asked to assist with the marking of each discipline. For more information, view our Frequently Asked Questions.
Mid North Coast Regional da Vinci Decathlon 2022
The Mid North Coast da Vinci Decathlon for 2022 will be run on the following dates:
- Years 9, 10 and 11 — Monday 16 May REGISTER HERE
- Years 7 and 8 — Tuesday 17 May REGISTER HERE
- Years 5 and 6 — Wednesday 18 May REGISTER HERE
If you have any questions, please email us.
Event Information and Resources
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)