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The South West’s Best Student Publication 2025
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ISSUE 781 11 MAR 2026 exepose.com @exepose
THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1987 Image: Emily McIndoe,
International Women’s Day Page 8
Art by Emily McIndoe, emilymcindoe.blogspot.com
Exeter among 36 UK universities facing legal action over Covid learning disruptions Tree planting project in Devon Page 10
Nina Exton Deputy Editor
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ORE than 170,000 current and former students are seeking compensation from their universities over their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, a similar legal action was brought against University College London (UCL), with a settlement reached between the University and 6,500 students in February of this year, just weeks before the four-week trial was scheduled to take place. Students involved in the case against UCL argued they paid for an
in-person university experience that they did not receive due to Covid disruptions. In an interview with the BBC, one UCL postgraduate said “I was promised studying at ‘London’s global university’ [UCL] … what I actually got was an online degree delivered in my bedroom”. Now, 36 other UK universities
are facing legal action – including the University of Exeter – after receiving pre-action letters from lawyers warning that students from their institution intend to seek damages.
Continued on page 3
Exeter Choir to stage rarely performed oratorio as part of Lord Mayor’s Concert Lauren Walsh Deputy Editor
The invisible ingredient Page 29 Title graphic: Amelie Redfern Images (top to bottom): Emily McIndoe, emilymcindoe. blogpot.comZEUS, Flickr, Pexels
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XETER Philharmonic Choir’s spring concert will take place this year on 14th March in Exeter Cathedral. The performance, which is often known as the Lord Mayor’s Concert, as the Lord Mayor is the honorary president of the choir. A collection from the concert will go towards Riding for the Disabled, the Lord Mayor’s charity of choice. Included in this concert is a full
performance of Handel’s oratorio Solomon, which is seldom performed in its entirety, making this a monumental moment for them. It is based on the stories of King Solomon from the Bible, from the First Book of Kings and the Second Book of Chronicles.
Included in this concert is a full performance of Handel’s ortorio Solomon, which is seldom performed in its entirety
One of the most famous movements from the Baroque oratorio, which the choir will stage in eight parts, is called “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba” and is arguably the most recognisable part of the piece. You may recognise it from the London Olympics opening ceremony in 2012, where it played when Daniel Craig, playing James Bond, met the Queen. The instrument ensemble Endelienta Baroque will accompany the performance, and the principle roles will be played by Martha
McLorinan, Amy Carson, Hugo Hymas and Timothy Dickinson as King Solomon, both Solomon’s Queen and the Queen of Sheba, Zadok the Priest and the Levite, respectively. The role of Solomon is written for a mezzo-soprano, because in the 18th century when it was written heroic male roles were usually played by women or castrati. The Exeter Philharmonic Choir will perform at another concert in Exeter’s Guildhall on 18th April, also in support of the Lord Mayor’s chosen charity.