The Da Vinci Decathlon is an annual academic challenge bringing together some of the brightest students from schools around Australia. Students compete in teams of eight across 10 disciplines: engineering, mathematics and chess, code breaking, art and poetry, science, English, ideation, creative producers, cartography and legacy.
This year, Carey fielded three Middle School teams to compete in the Victorian chapter: a Year 7 team, a Year 8 team and a team of Year 8s who entered the Year 9 competition. Congratulations to all students who took part, particularly our Year 8 team who won in two of their categories, Creative Producers and Engineering, and the Year 9 team who placed second in Ideation.
Our students reflected on their experiences:
'Earlier in May a group of Carey students went on an excursion to compete in the 2026 Victoria Da Vinci Decathlon, this year’s theme being Machines and Mechanics. We travelled to Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School and sat down to start our first session, all of us nervous but excited. The sessions were quite stressful and difficult, but the day was a great opportunity to exercise our skills. We used collaboration and worked together even if we were on different topics, for example, if someone had finished their task early, they would help another student who was having a hard time. After our first session finished, we had a break but unfortunately had to stay inside due to rain. Then we had our second session, lunch and legacy – a series of questions testing our knowledge on the past. Soon the different schools’ places were being read aloud; we were on the edge of our seats. The top three winners for the ‘creative produces’ topic from each year level got to perform their small skit – it was a good laugh for everyone. It was a wonderful experience, and we hope it helps us improve for next year.'
– Claire (Year 7 Tranter)
'On Thursday 7 May we woke up very early to get to PEGS for the Da Vinci Decathlon. In this ten-part event, schools from around Victoria come to compete in different areas such as typical subjects like English and Maths, but also more on the niche side, like Code Breaking and Engineering. We had three teams of 8 people: Year 7s, Year 8s, and another team of Year 8s in the Year 9 category! It was super fun doing things I don’t usually do in school with like-minded people with similar interests. Even though we weren’t exactly there to win, achieving two first places is a very nice bonus!'
– Jake (Year 8 Sutton)
'Competing in the Da Vinci Decathlon this year was a memorable experience. Schools from around Victoria all came together for an exciting and challenging day. It was amazing to see so many other students working to achieve a common goal and do their best for their school. Whilst there were normal subjects like Maths, English and Science, there were also other events that were interesting to compete in such as Engineering, Creative Producers and Code Breaking. We felt that we did well but were surprised when we won Creative Producers and Engineering. Also a big thanks to our teacher Mr Taffy who put in so much work to prepare us for the event. Overall, the Da Vinci Decathlon was an amazing experience and I look forward to next year’s event.'
– Aaron (Year 8 Steele)
