Routes is the first journal dedicated to showcasing the perspectives of undergraduate and sixth form geographers. We principally publish work from UK schools and universities, but we also review and publish work on geographical issues written in English from anywhere in the world. 

Routes was created by Dr Cyrus Nayeri and Dr Elizabeth Rushton in April 2020- a time when there was an urgent need to provide more support and opportunities to students affected by the closure of schools and universities during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Routes is only possible because of the support and encouragement from many hundreds of professional geographers. We rely on teachers and academics to provide quality peer reviews on student submissions. We also benefit from the time and expertise of our expert Advisory Board who help to ensure we are maximising the potential of Routes to benefit student geographers, as well as our superb Editorial Board who guide the article review process. 

All of us involved in Routes give our time voluntarily. We are motivated solely by a desire to support student geographers. Unlike the majority of professional academic journals, we have worked hard to ensure Routes is free to read and it is free to submit articles. This way we ensure as many geographers can benefit from reading and submitting to us. We are also independent which means the decisions we take about Routes are determined solely by our Editorial Board. 

If you are a teacher or academic, we hope you will consider signing-up to join our team of peer reviewers and consider using the articles published here as part of your teaching. If you are a student, we hope you feel motivated to submit your best work. You can be sure that you will receive detailed, supportive feedback from expert geographers in a way that helps you to be the best geographer you can be. 

Equality and diversity 

We believe the quality of geographical scholarship is the product of diverse lived experiences. These include, but are not limited to, Black, Brown and LGBTQ+ experiences. We encourage submissions from state school students. We also encourage submissions in formats such as video so that a fidelity to lived experiences might be more readily conveyed. 

We are committed to ensuring that our Editorial Board and peer reviewers reflect a balance of genders, ethnicities and educational backgrounds.

Our main aim at Routes is to uplift the voices of students and recognise their validity in contributing to geographical knowledge. We recognise the intersectionality of these voices and are conscious of our privilege in being in a position to provide this platform. 

We recognise this important work is always a work in progress and requires continual reflection and improvement. This desire for reflection and improvement lies at the centre of our aims and values. 

Aims

• To bridge the gap between scholarship in secondary and higher education 
• To open up publishing to groups of geographers that have traditionally been excluded on account of their level of geographical training 
• To ensure that Routes is a space of a plurality of student voices that celebrates different author identities and backgrounds

• To give students a positive experience of academic writing and publishing 
• To support and enable as many submissions through to a positive outcome
• To establish a network of geographers that support student geographical research and writing, that includes students and staff in schools, universities and beyond
• To showcase the breadth and diversity of contemporary scholarship from across the spectrum of human and physical geography
• To encourage submissions from different types of schools and higher education providers across the UK
• To accommodate submissions in a variety of formats including, videos, essays, photographs and sound recording. 
• To act as a mark of distinction for quality work in geography
• To develop students’ skills in scholarly writing

Plagiarism

It is a requirement that all work submitted to Routes is accurately referenced. This remains the sole responsibility of the author. 

If work is published which is later found to contain omissions in the referencing, this work will be immediately removed from the journal and only re-published once the work has been satisfactorily altered. 

Issue dates

There will be three issues per year. Issues will be released in January, April and September of each year.

Contact

editor@routesjournal.org