What CAS isn't!
Who is the action benefitting?
Image: Planning Your CAS Experience, Cannings, John.
Your CAS experiences need to offer a benefit to others. An internship at a law firm that benefits only you and your future career, for example, does not count. But, if you developed a presentation about your experience and working in law for younger students, you could turn it into a CAS experience.
You also cannot be paid for a CAS experience. Financial rewards automatically disqualify it.
You should be helping others. Do not expect something to count for CAS if you can not easily articulate how it has assisted others or contributed to a larger project. However, religious worship or family duties do not count as CAS.
Also, remember that activities that cause division among communities (such as religious or political activism) do not count as CAS. You must be able to look ahead and see how your experience will bring a positive change to the world around you.
Activities to avoid
any class, activity or project that is already part of the Diploma Programme.
an activity for personal reward, financial or benefit-in-kind.
simple, tedious and repetitive work.
a passive pursuit, e.g. museum, theatre, exhibition, concert visits.
part of family or religious duty.
work experience that only benefits the student.
fundraising with no clearly defined end in sight.
an activity where there is no responsible adult on site to evaluate your performance.