Da Vinci Decathlon 2025 – Celebrating Academic Achievement
We are incredibly proud of our Penrith Anglican College teams from Years 5-10 who represented our school at the 2025 da Vinci Decathlon, held on three separate days last week at Figtree Anglican Church. This prestigious interschool academic gala day, inspired by the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon, was established by Knox Grammar School in 2005 to celebrate the academic talents of young people through a series of challenging and stimulating events.
Working in teams of eight, students competed across ten disciplines: Engineering, Mathematics and Chess, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography, and Legacy. These are rigorous, fast-paced tasks that go well beyond what is taught in the classroom, requiring students to apply their knowledge creatively, think critically under pressure, and work collaboratively.
This year’s theme of sustainability encouraged students to explore global challenges and innovative solutions through an academic lens.
Mrs Knebel accompanied the Year 5 and 6 teams who had not participated in the competition before. Both teams had worked extremely hard in our preparation lessons and collaborated fantastically on the day to tackle the challenges. The Year 6 team placed 3rd in both the Legacy and English papers, and 6th place overall-an outstanding result among a field of more than twenty Year 6 teams.
Congratulations to all students involved for their exceptional effort, teamwork, and academic excellence!
Mrs Bronwen Knebel
