Use CAS interviews to review learning and next steps
Bring specific evidence and decisions to coordinator conversations throughout the programme.
Make the interviews useful
The CAS subject brief includes three formal interviews with the coordinator or adviser. Your school sets the timing and preparation arrangements. Treat each conversation as an opportunity to check your programme's direction, review learning and resolve difficulties. Bring a concise account of current experiences, your project and evidence. Do not wait until the last conversation to reveal a serious gap. A useful interview gives the coordinator enough information to advise you and leaves you with actions you understand.
Prepare a compact programme overview
List experiences by purpose, current status and the learning you can evidence. Include what you are continuing, changing or considering. Use the school's learning-outcome guidance to identify coverage, but do not turn the overview into a claim that every activity demonstrates everything. Check whether the portfolio reflects regular participation and a reasonable balance. Flag uncertainty honestly. For an unfinished project, describe completed work and the next dependency. The overview should show the actual programme rather than only the ambitious plan you wrote at its beginning.
Select evidence that reveals change
Choose a few pieces of evidence that you can explain: successive versions, feedback, a record of a meaningful decision or a reflection on a challenge. Tell the coordinator why each matters. A large folder of photographs may show attendance without explaining development. Evidence should be proportionate and appropriate, particularly where others' privacy is involved. Review whether the portfolio distinguishes your contribution from the group's product. It should be possible to understand both the shared outcome and what you personally learned through helping produce it.
Try a worked review discussion
An illustrative student notices that their portfolio contains frequent activity records but limited evidence about service learning. They bring a current service experience, feedback from the partner and a draft reflection on adapting instructions. The coordinator helps them distinguish participation evidence from evidence of learning. The student agrees to examine one significant decision and to check a suitable next commitment. This discussion does not require inventing service that never happened. It converts a portfolio gap into clearer documentation and, where necessary, genuine further experience.
Bring obstacles with possible responses
When an experience has stalled, explain the obstacle, steps you tried and options you are considering. Ask whether a proposed adaptation remains suitable. Examples include changing access, a partner's revised needs or a project team losing a member. Avoid presenting a difficulty as already solved when the solution has not been approved or attempted. The coordinator can advise more effectively when you provide details. Record the decision and agreed action after the conversation so that your programme and portfolio stay aligned with the guidance received.
Close the loop before the next interview
Add agreed actions to your ordinary task system and set a practical review date. Update evidence after significant events while you can remember the decisions accurately. Before the next conversation, check whether you completed the previous actions and what changed. As completion approaches, confirm outstanding requirements with the coordinator rather than relying on a peer's checklist. A good review cycle keeps CAS understandable and manageable. It also helps you see patterns in your learning that may be less obvious when experiences are recorded as isolated entries.
Your next-step checklist
Checklist choices stay in this browser.
Official references
This is an original practical guide from IBvia. The examples are illustrative; your subject guide, assessment year and school instructions determine the requirements.
Keep working on your next step
Start a balanced CAS programme with clear goals
Build sustained experiences across creativity, activity and service with a practical evidence plan.
Read the guide ↗
Choose CAS experiences that have a purpose
Adapt creativity, activity and service ideas around your interests, starting point and community needs.
Read the guide ↗