Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) provides a counterbalance to the academic challenges of the Diploma. Its purpose is to encourage pupils to be involved in artistic pursuits, sports and community service work and so foster an awareness and appreciation of life outside the academic programme.
CAS requires pupils to take part in and reflect on their participation and development from a range of experiences and at least one project. These should involve:
- real, purposeful activities, with significant outcomes
- personal challenge
- thoughtful consideration, such as planning, reviewing progress, reporting
- reflection on outcomes and personal learning
How is CAS structured?
The three strands of CAS, which are often interwoven with particular activities, are characterised as follows:
Creativity – arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
Activity – physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the DP.
Service – an unpaid and voluntary exchange that has a learning benefit for the student. The rights, dignity and autonomy of all those involved are respected.
The CAS Project
In order to demonstrate these concepts, pupils are also required to undertake a CAS project. The project challenges pupils to:
- show initiative
- demonstrate perseverance
- develop skills such as collaboration, problem solving and decision making.