Lifestyle & Entertainment
5 November, 2025
Avoca students power up for Energy Breakthrough
STUDENTS from Avoca Primary School are gearing up for one of the state’s most innovative school events, the Energy Breakthrough Challenge, which brings together creativity, engineering and teamwork. The Energy Breakthrough program gives students, teachers, parents and local industry the chance to work together to design and build a vehicle, machine or technological innovation that represents an “energy breakthrough.”
The challenge is unique in that teams compete across three assessment areas, Design and Construction, Display and Presentation, and Trials, testing not just engineering skill, but communication, teamwork and understanding of technology.
Throughout the year, school groups design, build and test their creations within certain specifications.
The program encourages students to explore new technologies while considering their environmental and social impact.
Each year, teams from across Victoria converge on Maryborough for a massive event where they showcase their designs and put them to the test in action.
This year, Avoca Primary School has entered three teams, Avoca Pixels, Avoca Achieve and Avoca Believe.
With just three weeks to go, students are hard at work fine-tuning their entries.
“We have a human-powered vehicle team, a ‘tryathlon’ team, which is another human-powered vehicle but a different event, and we have a robotics team this year,” Acting School Principal Tom Elliott said.
The Avoca Pixels team will compete in the robotics section, programming their Sphero robot using iPads as part of the World Sphero Championships.
“The kids compete and they’ve got to complete three missions,” Mr Elliott said.
“They also have a short Q&A with the judges about their pathway and the journey.”
Meanwhile, the human-powered vehicle and ‘tryathlon’ teams have been training hard, even after school on Wednesdays.
“It’s not just about the race. They need to know the materials, the safety features, everything there is to know about their vehicle,” Mr Elliott said.
But what truly sets the Energy Breakthrough apart is its community spirit.
“The biggest point I’d make about the Energy Breakthrough is the community involvement that we get. There’s a huge amount of local support around it, like nothing you’ve ever seen,” Mr Elliott said.
“The kids get so much out of it.”
Beyond the excitement of competition, the event provides invaluable life lessons.
“It’s the greatest event for primary school-based children, it covers everything, like public speaking,” he said.
“The race part’s fun. Probably some of the highlights, more so for me, is seeing somebody who might struggle to read, stand up there and deliver a speech to a group of judges, knowing that that person is the best rider in the team, but the hard challenge for them is that speaking side. That's what makes the event so unique that there's it's not just physical.”
Students are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and take on roles that challenge them.
“Challenges kids to step outside of their comfort zone and you see kids that struggle with certain aspects, really rise to the occasion of the day,” Mr Elliott said.
The school’s efforts have also been bolstered by community volunteers.
Former student Daryl Stewart has spent the past six to eight weeks helping students with welding and fabrication, showing them the process behind building their vehicles.
“He’s come over multiple times to spend time with the kids, teaching them how it’s made,” Mr Elliott said.
Local graphic designers have also pitched in, helping students create custom stickers for their vehicles and designing team shirts for the big event.
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