200 CAS Ideas for IB Students (Creativity, Activity, Service)

Stuck for CAS ideas? You are not alone. Most IB students spend weeks staring at a blank CAS portfolio, waiting for something clever to arrive. It rarely does. What actually works is picking one idea that fits your life, starting it this month, and writing down what happened.

This page gives you 200 real CAS ideas — 50 for Creativity, 50 for Activity, 50 for Service, and 50 full CAS project ideas. Every one of them has been done by real students at real schools. You can take one exactly as written, or bend it to fit your city, your school and your timetable.

Quick answer: A good CAS idea is anything that fits Creativity, Activity or Service, is based on something you personally care about, stretches you a little, and is not already part of a class you take for marks. You need a spread across all three strands over at least 18 months, plus at least one CAS project that runs for a minimum of one month with other people. The IB sets no hours target — you finish CAS by showing evidence for all seven learning outcomes, not by counting time.

What actually counts as a CAS idea?

A CAS idea counts if it sits inside one of the three strands the IB defines. Here is the official wording, straight from the IB's own CAS subject brief.

Two words in the Service definition do a lot of work. Reciprocal means both sides get something — the community gets help, you get learning. Authentic need means somebody actually asked for it, or the need is obvious and documented. Turning up at an orphanage for one afternoon of photos is not an authentic need. It is a photo opportunity.

CAS is one of three core parts of the IB Diploma Programme, alongside Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay. If you want the full picture of how the core fits together, our IB Diploma guide walks through the whole programme. For how CAS is run and recorded at school level, start with our main CAS guide.

The five tests every CAS idea has to pass

Before you commit to any idea on this page, run it through this checklist. The IB's own rules say a CAS experience must:

1. Fit one or more of the three strands. Most good ideas fit two.

2. Come from a personal interest, skill, talent, or a chance to grow. Not from a list your coordinator handed out. (Yes, including this one — pick the ones that actually appeal to you.)

3. Give you a chance to build the IB learner profile attributes. Risk-taker, caring, reflective, and the rest. Our IB learner profile guide explains all ten.

4. Not be counted in your DP course requirements. This is the rule students break most often. Your Visual Arts coursework cannot be a Creativity experience. Your Sports Science practicals cannot be Activity. Your Biology fieldwork cannot be Service.

5. Be something you can reflect on honestly. If nothing changed in you, there is nothing to write.

One more thing, and it surprises people: paid work does not count as Service. Service has to be unpaid and voluntary. A paid coaching job can still count as Activity, but not as Service.

How many CAS ideas do you actually need?

You need enough experiences to show evidence of all seven learning outcomes, spread reasonably across the three strands, over at least 18 months. That is the real answer.

The IB does not set an hours target. Completion of CAS is based on achieving the seven learning outcomes, and you prove that through your CAS portfolio. The old "150 hours" figure — 50 Creativity, 50 Activity, 50 Service — is not an IB rule. Plenty of schools still ask students to log rough hours as an internal checkpoint. That is a school decision, not an IB requirement. Ask your coordinator what your school expects and write it down.

In practice, most students end up with somewhere between 8 and 15 separate CAS experiences plus one CAS project. A few long, committed experiences beat twenty one-off appearances every time. Learning outcome 4 is literally about commitment and perseverance — you cannot show that with a single afternoon.

CAS is worth zero points. Not one. It cannot lift your score the way TOK and the Extended Essay can — our IB points system guide shows exactly where those three bonus points come from. But CAS can still cost you the whole diploma. Under the IB's General Regulations, CAS is "a programme of activities that must be successfully completed." A student who does not satisfy the requirements receives DP Course Results instead of the IB Diploma. Zero points, total power. Do not leave it until March of Year 13.

50 Creativity ideas

Creativity is the strand students find hardest to name, because most people decide at 14 that they are "not creative". You do not have to be. Creativity here means making or performing something, and learning a new skill counts.

1. Learn a second instrument from scratch and record a three-song set.

2. Write and self-publish a short poetry collection.

3. Design and lay out your school yearbook.

4. Start a podcast about student life and release ten episodes.

5. Learn calligraphy and hand-letter the invitations for a school event.

6. Compose original background music for a school drama production.

7. Build a website for a student club from scratch.

8. Learn video editing and make a five-minute documentary.

9. Paint a mural in a school corridor with permission and a proper design.

10. Teach yourself watercolour and hold a small exhibition.

11. Write, direct and stage a twenty-minute play.

12. Learn a new dance style — hip hop, kathak, salsa — and perform it.

13. Design and sew a small clothing collection from recycled fabric.

14. Start a school magazine and edit four full issues.

15. Learn photography properly and shoot a photo essay about your city.

16. Code a mobile app that fixes one small everyday annoyance.

17. Learn pottery and make a complete dinner set.

18. Write a 10,000-word novella over twelve months.

19. Design the posters for every school event for a year.

20. Learn to DJ and play a set at a school social.

21. Build a robot from a kit, then modify it to do something new.

22. Learn stop-motion animation and make a short film.

23. Start a YouTube channel teaching a skill you already have.

24. Learn origami and run a workshop for younger students.

25. Write and record a song in a language you are learning.

26. Design a board game, playtest it, and publish the rules.

27. Learn basic woodworking and build a bookshelf.

28. Join the school choir and learn to read sheet music.

29. Create a comic strip series for the school newsletter.

30. Learn 3D modelling and print a working prototype.

31. Take up improv theatre and perform at an open mic night.

32. Learn bread baking and cater a school event.

33. Design a logo and full brand kit for a student club.

34. Learn digital illustration and design album covers for local artists.

35. Write and record a radio drama with friends.

36. Learn music production software and release one finished track.

37. Start a book club and design a full year's reading programme.

38. Learn to knit or crochet and complete a large project.

39. Build a scale model of your city's skyline.

40. Learn screen printing and design a club T-shirt.

41. Curate a student art show, including hanging, lighting and labels.

42. Learn to write in a new script — Arabic, Devanagari, Hangul.

43. Make a zine about a topic nobody at school talks about.

44. Learn juggling or circus skills and perform at a school fair.

45. Write reviews of local restaurants or books for six months.

46. Learn flower arranging and decorate a school ceremony.

47. Build a chess-teaching video series for complete beginners.

48. Design a sustainable house model for an architecture competition.

49. Learn beatboxing or a cappella and join a group.

50. Storyboard and shoot a music video for a friend's song.

50 Activity ideas

Activity means physical exertion that contributes to a healthy lifestyle. It does not have to be a team sport, and it definitely does not have to be competitive. What it has to be is regular, and slightly beyond what you can already do.

1. Train for and run a 5K, then build up to a 10K.

2. Learn proper front crawl technique and swim 1 km without stopping.

3. Join a school team for a full season, not just a few matches.

4. Take up rock climbing and lead your first route.

5. Learn karate or taekwondo and grade to your first belt.

6. Cycle 100 km across one weekend.

7. Do yoga three times a week for six months and track flexibility.

8. Learn to skateboard and land one clean trick.

9. Join a rowing club and compete in a regatta.

10. Train specifically for the school swimming gala.

11. Learn tennis and enter a local junior tournament.

12. Take up hiking and complete five trails over 10 km each.

13. Learn boxing for fitness, twice a week, at a proper gym.

14. Join the basketball team as a complete beginner.

15. Learn to surf during a school break and keep going.

16. Take up badminton and enter a doubles competition.

17. Train for a triathlon relay with two friends.

18. Learn to ski or snowboard and pass a graded level test.

19. Take up table tennis and play a full school league season.

20. Join a dance fitness class twice a week for a term.

21. Learn to ice skate and skate backwards confidently.

22. Take up archery at a local club.

23. Train for a 100 km charity walk over several months.

24. Learn horse riding and complete a beginner course.

25. Join an ultimate frisbee team.

26. Follow a proper twelve-week strength training programme.

27. Learn to kayak and paddle a 5 km river route.

28. Play squash every week for a year.

29. Take up volleyball and play in a school tournament.

30. Learn Pilates and teach a short session to classmates.

31. Train for a Parkrun personal best and log every run.

32. Take up fencing at a beginner club.

33. Learn to scuba dive and get certified.

34. Join a cricket team for a full season.

35. Take up trail running twice a week.

36. Learn to keep a football up 50 times without dropping it.

37. Complete a 30-day flexibility challenge and record the change.

38. Take up netball as a brand new sport.

39. Learn to sail a dinghy solo.

40. Join a hockey team and learn a position you have never played.

41. Take up indoor bouldering every week.

42. Learn Muay Thai or kickboxing basics.

43. Train for a sponsored obstacle race.

44. Take up golf and work towards a handicap.

45. Join a martial arts club and spar in a friendly bout.

46. Learn to unicycle or slackline.

47. Take up open-water swimming with a supervised club.

48. Start a walking group for older neighbours and lead it weekly.

49. Take up handball or water polo.

50. Complete a multi-day expedition with training walks beforehand.

50 Service ideas

Service is where CAS gets serious. It has to answer a real need, it has to be unpaid, and both sides have to benefit. The strongest Service ideas are ones where you keep turning up for months, not ones where you raise money once and disappear.

1. Tutor younger students in maths once a week for a full year.

2. Volunteer at an animal shelter every Saturday.

3. Teach basic English to migrant workers in your city.

4. Run a coding club for primary school students.

5. Organise a monthly beach, park or river clean-up.

6. Help at a food bank sorting and packing donations.

7. Read aloud to residents at a care home every week.

8. Set up a peer mentoring scheme for new students.

9. Teach digital skills to older adults — email, video calls, banking apps.

10. Volunteer at a local library shelving books and running story time.

11. Start a school recycling programme with proper bins and signage.

12. Fundraise for and install a water filter at a partner school.

13. Run a homework club for students with no quiet space at home.

14. Volunteer at a hospital as a ward helper.

15. Teach water safety and basic swimming to younger children.

16. Translate school letters for families new to the language.

17. Grow vegetables in a community garden and donate the harvest.

18. Get first aid certified, then run awareness sessions at school.

19. Collect and repair old bicycles for people who need transport.

20. Set up a uniform and textbook exchange at your school.

21. Volunteer as a scorer or referee for a junior sports league.

22. Run a mental health awareness campaign with your school counsellor.

23. Teach free music lessons to students whose families cannot pay.

24. Help at a soup kitchen every week.

25. Build and maintain a website for a small local charity.

26. Organise a blood donation drive with a local hospital.

27. Mentor a student with a learning difference in a subject you are strong in.

28. Run a clothes swap to cut textile waste at your school.

29. Volunteer with a refugee support group.

30. Set up a phone-buddy scheme for isolated older people.

31. Plant and maintain 100 trees with a local environmental group.

32. Teach basic money skills to younger students.

33. Volunteer at a special needs school sports day.

34. Run a stationery drive for under-resourced schools.

35. Help run a local museum's children's workshops.

36. Record audio books for students with visual impairments.

37. Organise a road safety campaign for the streets around your school.

38. Volunteer at a wildlife rescue centre.

39. Take a science demonstration roadshow to primary schools.

40. Set up a repair café at school for bags, bikes and devices.

41. Coach a junior team in a sport you already play.

42. Fundraise for and stock a library at a rural school.

43. Run an anti-bullying workshop series with your teachers.

44. Volunteer at a disability sports club.

45. Help elderly neighbours with shopping and errands every week.

46. Start a menstrual health product drive for local shelters.

47. Teach chess at a community centre.

48. Run "learn to ride" sessions for children who have no bike at home.

49. Volunteer as a guide at a local heritage site.

50. Support a small charity's admin — data entry, thank-you letters, records.

50 CAS project ideas

A CAS project is different from a CAS experience. It is a collaborative series of sequential experiences lasting at least one month, and every IB student must complete at least one. It can sit in a single strand, or combine two or all three.

The IB asks that a CAS project involves real, purposeful activity with significant outcomes, personal challenge, thoughtful planning and review, and reflection on what you learned. That is the bar. Three friends collecting money for a week does not clear it.

The tags below show which strands each project touches — C for Creativity, A for Activity, S for Service.

1. Run a six-week coding bootcamp for twenty primary students. (C + S)

2. Produce a charity concert from auditions through to performance night. (C + S)

3. Organise an inter-school football tournament that funds a specific cause. (A + S)

4. Build and stock a network of five little free libraries. (C + S)

5. Film a documentary about one local environmental problem. (C + S)

6. Set up a school-wide composting system and run it for a term. (S)

7. Design and deliver a mental health week with workshops and speakers. (C + S)

8. Train as a group for a half marathon and fundraise together. (A + S)

9. Write and illustrate a bilingual picture book for a local nursery. (C + S)

10. Build a sensory garden at a special needs school. (C + A + S)

11. Launch a student-run radio station with a weekly schedule. (C)

12. Start a monthly repair café and keep it running. (S)

13. Deliver a water safety programme at a local pool. (A + S)

14. Produce a play about migration with a refugee support group. (C + S)

15. Map every wheelchair barrier in your neighbourhood and report it to the council. (S)

16. Set up a peer tutoring network with a real timetable and tracking. (S)

17. Design and build a rainwater harvesting system for the school. (C + S)

18. Organise a district science fair for primary schools. (C + S)

19. Start a hiking club and lead six group hikes. (A)

20. Create an oral history archive by interviewing older residents. (C + S)

21. Run a "cycle to school" campaign with route maps and safety training. (A + S)

22. Build a website and volunteer booking system for a food bank. (C + S)

23. Organise a cultural food festival that funds a named school project. (C + S)

24. Set up a girls' sports league at a partner school. (A + S)

25. Stage a photo exhibition on a local social issue and donate the sales. (C + S)

26. Design an accessible playground upgrade and fundraise the exact cost. (C + S)

27. Run a term-long chess programme at a community centre. (S)

28. Build an app that connects student volunteers to local charities. (C + S)

29. Run a beach clean-up series and record data on the plastic you find. (A + S)

30. Build a school greenhouse and run it through a full growing season. (C + A + S)

31. Produce a student cookbook and sell it for a cause. (C + S)

32. Deliver a term of dance classes for children with disabilities. (A + S)

33. Paint a community mural about local history with residents. (C + S)

34. Run a coding-for-girls weekend workshop. (C + S)

35. Install a buddy bench and build a playground friendship scheme around it. (S)

36. Organise a school-wide first aid certification drive. (S)

37. Produce a podcast series interviewing local changemakers. (C)

38. Run a bike repair workshop that services fifty bikes. (A + S)

39. Stage a charity fashion show using only upcycled clothes. (C + S)

40. Build a solar phone-charging station for the school. (C + S)

41. Deliver a six-week literacy programme at a shelter. (S)

42. Write and perform an anti-bullying theatre piece for younger years. (C + S)

43. Organise a walkathon that funds one specific, fully costed item. (A + S)

44. Survey a wildlife corridor with a local nature group. (A + S)

45. Set up a homework helpline staffed by students on a rota. (S)

46. Record an album with student artists to fund school instruments. (C + S)

47. Run a term of yoga sessions for students in exam year. (A + S)

48. Create a multilingual welcome pack for families new to the school. (C + S)

49. Take a "science on wheels" tour to three primary schools. (C + S)

50. Build a wheelchair ramp for a community building alongside a local builder. (C + S)

Mapping your CAS ideas to the seven learning outcomes

Completion of CAS is based on achieving the seven CAS learning outcomes. You have to show evidence of each one at least once in your CAS portfolio. Some you will hit many times. Others — outcome 6 and outcome 7 especially — students often miss until the last minute.

Here are the seven, in the IB's own words, with what evidence actually looks like.

Two practical points. Outcome 3 is where most students have a gap — they join things instead of starting things. Make sure one experience is yours from the first idea onward. Outcome 6 is not about flying somewhere. Teaching digital skills to older adults in your own town engages with digital exclusion, which is a global issue. Say so in your reflection, and back it up.

The CAS stages: how to turn an idea into a finished experience

Every CAS experience follows the same five stages. Use them as your planning template.

1. Investigation. Find out what the real need or the real gap is. Ask people. Do not guess.

2. Preparation. Plan it — dates, people, permissions, budget, safety, what could go wrong.

3. Action. Do it, and keep doing it. Photograph and log as you go, not afterwards.

4. Reflection. Write throughout, not once at the end. Short and honest beats long and polished.

5. Demonstration. Share what happened — an assembly, a blog post, a report to your coordinator.

Reflection is the part students rush and coordinators care most about. A useful reflection answers three questions: what did I do, what did I feel, and what will I do differently? One paragraph doing that beats a page of description.

CAS ideas that get rejected (and why)

Coordinators reject the same handful of ideas every year. Save yourself the conversation.

The last one has a fix. Watching a documentary is not CAS. Watching it, then designing a workshop about the issue and running it three times, is.

Choosing CAS ideas that fit around IB workload

The honest tension: CAS takes real time, and so does the Extended Essay, and so do six subjects. Students who struggle are almost always the ones who front-load nothing and then panic in Year 13.

Three rules that work:

• Start Service first. It is the strand with the most planning overhead and the most other people involved. Creativity and Activity can be picked up quickly. Service cannot.

• Choose things already in your week. If you train twice a week anyway, that is Activity — register it properly and start reflecting on it. Do not invent a whole new commitment.

• Pick one project early, in Year 12. The CAS project needs at least a month, plus planning. Doing it in the same term as your IA deadlines is a choice you will regret.

Students who plan CAS well tend to plan everything well. If your child is juggling CAS, the core and six subjects, our guide on how to score a 7 in IB covers the time-management side in detail. And if the workload has already tipped over, a specialist tutor who knows the DP calendar can take the academic pressure off — you can book a free trial class to see how that works.

Frequently asked questions about CAS ideas

How many hours of CAS do I need?

The IB does not set an hours requirement. Completion of CAS is based on providing evidence that you have achieved all seven CAS learning outcomes, not on a total number of hours.

Many schools still ask students to log hours, and the old figure of 150 hours — roughly 50 per strand — is still widely used as an internal guideline. That is a school rule, not an IB one. Ask your CAS coordinator what your school expects in writing, because it varies.

How long does CAS last?

CAS formally begins at the start of the Diploma Programme and continues regularly for at least 18 months. There should be a reasonable balance across Creativity, Activity and Service across that whole period.

That means CAS is not something you can complete in a burst. Regular involvement over time is exactly what learning outcome 4 is testing.

What is the difference between a CAS experience and a CAS project?

A CAS experience is a specific event where you engage with one or more of the three strands. It can be a single event or a series.

A CAS project is a collaborative series of sequential CAS experiences lasting at least one month. Every student must complete at least one CAS project. The project can address one strand, or combine two or all three.

Do I get points for CAS?

No. CAS is not formally assessed and carries no points. Only Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay contribute the up to three bonus points in the IB's 45-point total.

But CAS is still compulsory. The IB's General Regulations describe CAS as a programme of activities that must be successfully completed. A student who does not meet the requirements receives DP Course Results rather than the full IB Diploma.

Can my paid job count as CAS?

Not as Service. The IB defines Service as an unpaid and voluntary exchange with a learning benefit for the student, so anything you are paid for is out.

A paid job can sometimes count under Activity if it is genuinely physical and you set a growth goal around it. Check with your coordinator before you log it, and expect them to ask what the challenge is.

Can I use my art or sports coursework for CAS?

No. A CAS experience must not be used or included in your DP course requirements. So your Visual Arts exhibition pieces, your Music performance recordings and your Sports Science practicals are all off limits.

You can still do more art or more sport for CAS — it just has to be separate work, outside what your teacher marks.

What are good CAS project ideas that are easy to start?

The easiest CAS projects to start are ones that use a skill you already have and a group you are already part of. A six-week tutoring programme, a repair café, a documentary about a local issue, or a fundraising sports event all work.

Whatever you choose, it needs collaboration, at least a month of sequential activity, and real planning. Pick something small that you can actually finish rather than something ambitious that stalls in week two.

How do I show learning outcome 6, engagement with issues of global significance?

Link your local action to a wider issue and show you understand it. You do not need to travel anywhere.

For example: running a clothes swap at school engages with textile waste and fast fashion. Say that explicitly in your reflection, cite one credible source on the scale of the problem, and explain what responsible action you took locally. That is the whole outcome.

What happens if I do not finish CAS?

You do not receive the IB Diploma. You receive DP Course Results instead, which list your subject grades and core results but are not the full diploma.

This is why coordinators chase students so hard in Year 13. Schools set their own internal deadlines well before the IB's, precisely so there is time to fix gaps.

How many CAS experiences should I have?

There is no set number. Most students end up with roughly 8 to 15 experiences plus one CAS project across the 18 months.

Depth beats quantity. Three sustained commitments that ran for a year give you far better evidence for learning outcomes 2 and 4 than fifteen one-off appearances ever will.

Do I have to do all three strands equally?

You need a reasonable balance, not a perfect split. The IB asks for a reasonable balance between Creativity, Activity and Service across the programme.

Schools interpret "reasonable" differently. If you have twelve Activity experiences and one Service experience, expect to be asked to fix it — that is not balanced by anyone's reading.

How many interviews do I have with my CAS coordinator?

Three formal interviews. They usually fall near the start of the programme, somewhere in the middle, and at the end.

Bring your portfolio to each one. The middle interview is where gaps get caught early, so go in honest about what is missing rather than talking up what you have done.

Written by the Educifly team. Educifly is a boutique online tutoring practice for IB Diploma, IB MYP and Cambridge/Edexcel IGCSE students, founded in 2018. All CAS rules and definitions above are taken from the IB's own published CAS documentation and the Diploma Programme General Regulations. Your school's CAS handbook is the final word on how these rules are applied where you study.