On Tuesday, 9th of May, 16 Kolbe GATE students (Year 7 & 8) visited the University of Western Australia to participate in the Da Vinci Decathlon, an academic inter-school gala operated in the spirit of an Olympic Decathlon and in the tradition of the Knox Grammar competition, hosted by Methodist Ladies’ College.
The day was filled with 10 different topics: Science, Creative Producers, English, Ideation, Art and Poetry, Mathematics, Engineering, Cartography, Code breaking, and Legacy. The day started with us getting to school at 7am to get to UWA. When we finally arrived, the great hall where the Decathlon was held was mesmerising. Reminded me of the hall in Harry Potter. The main floor was full of excited and buzzing students from schools all over the state. After setting up our table with stationary and lollies for the day, both teams quickly determined their strengths and weaknesses and began working on the first four subjects.
Over the next few hours, the teams had fun exploring the different subjects and by the end of it everyone was drained. The ceremony at the end was filled with excitement and awe. We were all thrilled when the Year 7’s were awarded with a Bronze in Cartography! Overall the Year 8’s placed 27th out of 45 schools and the Year 7’s placed 19th. Regardless of our placement, we really enjoyed the experience and can’t wait to return to the university another day.
