Students put their problem solving skills to the test for state-wide academic decathlon
More than 3,500 of the state’s brightest girls and boys from Years 5 to 11 last week competed in a massive academic challenge called the da Vinci Decathlon at Knox Grammar School in Wahroonga, Sydney.
The Decathlon, which was established by Knox Grammar in 2005, celebrates the academic gifts of young people by providing a stimulating and challenging competition run in the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon.
This year's NSW da Vinci Decathlon overall winners were:
The da Vinci Decathlon is designed to challenge and enrich the learning of the highest performing students in Australia. The competition offers a unique opportunity for students to engage in an interschool competition, to extend themselves intellectually and creatively, to problem-solve collaboratively and to develop their skills as an effective team member.
Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines including ideation, engineering, mathematics, code breaking, art and poetry, science and English.
What began as a small local competition has grown to be a national and global phenomenon, involving thousands of government and non-government students across Australia.
The growth has been so enormous, and interest so high, that chapter schools in regional NSW, the ACT, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria, the Northern Territory and Queensland now run individual local and state competitions, with a national final held in June each year at Knox Grammar School.
Across Australia, more than 16,000 young people will compete in da Vinci Decathlon events throughout 2019.
Every two years an international da Vinci Decathlon and ‘Race Around the Renaissance’ is held in Europe, with the next competition due to take place later this year, with participation from schools across the globe.
For more information, please see the da Vinci Decathlon website, www.davincidecathlon.com.
29 October 2025
Last Friday marked a proud milestone for the Knox Ravenswood Army Cadet Unit, as we formally inducted our 2025–26 leadership team during the annual Cadet Under Officer (CUO) Induction Parade.
27 October 2025
Earlier this term, Sophie Gee, co-host of the podcast ‘Secret Life of Books’, delivered a presentation on the psychological benefits of engaging with literature.
24 October 2025
Last weekend, we welcomed hundreds of individual and team competitors from 60 schools nationwide as they showcased their creativity and critical thinking at the National Finals of the Future Problem Solving competition.
