IB CAS: the 7 Learning Outcomes,
Evidenced on a China Expedition

CAS completion rests on seven learning outcomes, not on hours. Each must be evidenced at least once across the programme. A multi-day expedition in China can carry most of them — challenge, commitment and collaboration come almost free on the trail — but outcome 3 only counts if the student, not the adults, planned the trip.

The seven outcomes are the whole test

IB CAS — creativity, activity, service — is one of the three core elements of the IB Diploma Programme, alongside Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay. It is not graded, and the IB sets no hours target. Completion rests on one thing: the seven CAS learning outcomes, each shown at least once across the programme, with evidence the student produced.

The IB states that students "provide evidence of achieving the seven learning outcomes". In practice that means regular activity across roughly 18 months, a portfolio of reflections and artefacts, at least one collaborative CAS project lasting a month or more, and three formal interviews with the school's CAS coordinator. Your school's own handbook governs the detail — deadlines, platforms and reflection formats differ from one IB World School to the next.

The IB publishes the outcome wording inside the CAS guide, which schools read through the Programme Resource Centre. The list below follows the standard published wording; your coordinator's version is the one that counts.

The seven CAS learning outcomes, with China examples

Here are all seven, in the IB's wording, with a line on what each looks like in practice and the nearest thing a China outdoor programme can supply.

Note the spelling: the IB's documents use "recognize" in outcomes 5 and 7, not the British "recognise". Keep the IB spelling when you quote them, and keep your school's template wording everywhere else.

Why one multi-day expedition carries three outcomes at once

Outcomes 2, 4 and 5 are the ones an expedition produces almost on its own. Walk the Dongchong–Xichong coastal traverse on the Dapeng Peninsula — just over four hours of jungle path, wave-cut rock platforms and headland scrambles — and every student meets a new skill, a commitment test and a group problem inside one afternoon. Climb Qiniang Mountain, at 867 m Shenzhen's second-highest peak, and the same three arrive through heat and vertical gain instead of slick granite.

What the outdoors does not produce on its own is outcome 3. Initiative and planning are the outcomes most often missing from trip-based CAS portfolios, because the itinerary arrived finished by email and the student only had to turn up.

Where we run it from: our Dapeng base sits beside Dapeng Fortress, a walled garrison town about 600 years old, within reach of the 40 routes and 11 camps we have run for 16 years with more than 8,000 families. Groups move at a staff-to-child ratio of 7 to 1, and our equipment meets CE and UIAA standards.

A worked evidence map: six days in Dapeng

One six-day programme can be cut into evidence, outcome by outcome. This mapping is a planning aid, not a school decision — your CAS coordinator decides what counts.

CAS and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award: two frameworks, one trip

Many international families meet both frameworks in the same school year. The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award, founded in 1956, runs in more than 130 countries and is open to 14- to 24-year-olds. It has four sections at Bronze and Silver — Volunteering, Physical Recreation, Skills and the Adventurous Journey — and adds a Residential project at Gold. IB CAS sits in a narrower age band, roughly 16 to 19, and is judged only on the seven outcomes.

The overlap is real: several international schools let students bank the same Volunteering, Physical and Skills hours toward both. The Adventurous Journey is the part that does not simply transfer — it must be planned, trained for and assessed by a licensed Award Centre, and Qumogu is not one. We supply the terrain, the logistics and the safety; a school or Award Centre supplies the sign-off.

The honest limits

Three things stop a trip from doing what families hope it will do.

First, one trip is one entry, not a programme. CAS runs across roughly 18 months; a single strong expedition is a good portfolio page, not the whole portfolio. Students still need the long, regular, unglamorous commitment that outcome 4 exists to test.

Second, a photograph is not evidence. The IB asks for proof of learning, and the proof is what the student wrote: the decision, the mistake, the disagreement, the thing they would do differently. A gallery of summit selfies proves attendance, not growth.

Third, South China's weather decides more days than any itinerary does. On the Dapeng Peninsula we have logged 33°C afternoons at close to 80 per cent humidity between June and September, and typhoon season runs roughly July to September. October to April is the workable window for a school expedition; June to September is not, and we will say so when a school asks.

Who this is not for

We would rather lose a booking than over-promise, so here is where we say no.

• Students who want a certificate from us. We are not an IB World School and we are not a licensed Award Centre; the school issues the outcome judgement, not the trip operator.
• Families who want the adults to plan everything. That closes off outcome 3 before the trip has started.
• Children under 14 hoping to bank Duke of Edinburgh sections — the Award opens at 14. Younger children build the habits; they do not yet hold the award.
• Anyone relabelling a family holiday as CAS. Without a coordinator-approved plan and student-written evidence, a holiday stays a holiday.

What to do before you book

Five practical steps make the difference between a memorable week and a portfolio that survives a coordinator's scrutiny.

• Ask the CAS coordinator first, in writing, which activities they would accept and under which strand.
• Put the student in charge of something real: the route, the food budget, the packing list or the risk briefing.
• Agree the evidence in advance — what will be logged, photographed, dated and reflected on.
• Budget 10 to 15 minutes of reflection the same evening, while the memory is fresh. CAS rewards specificity, not adjectives.
• Check insurance and medical cover for the specific activities — kayaking, climbing, coasteering and caving are often excluded by default.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 7 IB CAS learning outcomes?

The seven outcomes are: identify own strengths and develop areas for growth; demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills; demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience; show commitment to, and perseverance in, CAS experiences; demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively; demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance; and recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions. Each must be evidenced at least once.

Is there a minimum number of CAS hours in the IB?

No. The IB does not require a fixed number of hours, and CAS is not graded. Completion depends on evidencing the seven learning outcomes across a programme of regular activity spanning roughly 18 months, plus at least one collaborative CAS project of a month or more and three formal interviews. Some schools set local deadlines and reflection quotas, so follow your own handbook.

Can an outdoor trip in China count as a CAS experience?

Yes, for several outcomes. Challenge, commitment and collaboration (outcomes 2, 4 and 5) are almost automatic on a multi-day expedition, and conservation work can carry outcome 6. Outcome 3 only counts if the student genuinely initiated and planned the experience. The evidence has to be written by the student, not supplied by the operator.

Does the Duke of Edinburgh's Award overlap with IB CAS?

Often, yes. Some international schools let students use the same Volunteering, Physical and Skills hours toward both frameworks. The Adventurous Journey is the exception: it needs a licensed Award Centre to plan, train and assess it. Confirm the arrangement with your school's CAS coordinator and Award Leader before you commit to a programme.

What evidence should a student keep from the trip?

A dated log, the student's own plan and budget, instructor skill sign-offs, and one short reflection per outcome. Reflections work best when they describe a single moment — a decision, a mistake, a disagreement — rather than summarising the whole week. Photographs support a claim; they do not replace the writing.

Sources

• International Baccalaureate — Creativity, activity, service (DP core)
• IB — Creativity, Activity, Service subject brief (PDF)
• Educifly — The 7 CAS learning outcomes explained, with evidence examples
• The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award — official framework
• Qumogu Field Note: Qiniang Mountain, Dapeng Peninsula (867 m)
• Qumogu Field Note: Dongchong–Xichong coastal traverse
• Qumogu camps — Scout-method residential and day camps, ages 3–14