IB CAS: Henry Lee

‘’I initially thought CAS would be a lot of extra work that would just interfere with my academic studies - but I was very wrong. I have tried a lot of new activities, such as gardening and coding, and they have all been very enjoyable. Without CAS, I doubt I would have attempted these new activities. To me, these activities are fun, so they don't count as work and they serve as a productive way to take a break from doing academic work. The CAS ethos of reflecting upon what you have learnt is an aspect I particularly like as it is always encouraging to see how far exactly you have progressed, and is a valuable skill I have developed from doing CAS, along with perfecting my time management.

My CAS project involved going to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester to build a Rube Goldberg machine for a science fair. Parts of the process were frustrating, such as standing several dominoes up after you've accidentally knocked them over! This taught me the importance of diligence and patience. However, through the power of team work, the project was a great success and the supervisor of the fair had commented that our machine was the best thing she had ever seen at the fair in all her years running it!

CAS has been very enjoyable, and has taught me skills such as cooking that I am definitely going to use again in the future. I feel that it has really helped me with my personal growth, and it has given me some truly unforgettable experiences.”