Creativity, activity, service (CAS) is one of the three essential elements that every student must complete as part of the Diploma Programme (DP).
Studied throughout the Diploma Programme, CAS involves students in a range of activities alongside their academic studies. It is not formally assessed. However, students reflect on their CAS experiences as part of the DP, and provide evidence of achieving the seven learning outcomes for CAS.
The three strands of CAS, which are often interwoven with particular activities, are characterized as follows:
1. Creativity – arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
2. Activity – physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle, complementing academic work elsewhere in the DP.
3. 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.
In order to demonstrate these concepts, students are required to undertake a CAS project. The project challenges students to:
1. show initiative
2. demonstrate perseverance
3. develop skills such as collaboration, problem solving and decision making.
CAS enables students to enhance their personal and interpersonal development by learning through experience. It provides opportunities for self-determination and collaboration with others, fostering a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment from their work. At the same time, CAS is an important counterbalance to the academic pressures of the DP.
A good CAS programme should be both challenging and enjoyable – a personal journey of self‑discovery.
Each student has a different starting point, and therefore different goals and needs, but for many their CAS activities include experiences that are profound and life‑changing.
Please click on the arrow for a detailed breakdown: