Young Scientists Journal

Young Scientists Journal is an online science journal written, edited and produced by students across the world aged 12 to 20.

Students are responsible for all the writing, editing, web design, marketing, communications, social media, technical support and outreach and produced an issue twice a year.

Some schools have established hubs, where a teacher oversees a group of students working on the journal.

Aims

1. To improve science communication skills amongst young people.

2. To provide a vehicle for publishing science research done by school students.

Background

The journal was founded at The King's School, Canterbury in 2006 by a small group of interested students, overseen by the then Head of Science.

Resources

The journal is run by students across the globe, mentored by the Head of Partnerships at the King's School. A small budget provided by the school and the Butrous Foundation covers printing and marketing costs, as well as conferences.  It has been generously sponsored by the Royal Commission for the 1851 Exhibition, for the purpose of increasing involvement with UK state secondary schools.

Students at King's form a central hub and meet at the school weekly during termtime, assisted by some teaching staff.

The journal has partnerships with a number of organisations, including The Royal Society, Lunar Mission One, The Institute for Research in Schools and the London Internationa Youth Science Forum.

Impact

The outcome is the journal itself, with articles published on a rolling basis and a twice-yearly issue.  The journal also holds anual conferences, the last one being 14th October 2015. A post-conference survey showed high levels of satisfaction with over 80% of attendees (students and teachers) being very likely to recommend it to a friend.  The event was sponsored by a number of organisations, in particular The King's School and Coty.

Pupil Involvement

All the students engaged in journal activity are aged 12-20.