city news

Dental shame stops people seeking help for oral health issues, study warns

Shame can lead people to avoid getting treatment for dental issues, potentially worsening oral health inequalities, a new study warns. A better understanding of dental shame could encourage more people to seek help, researchers and practitioners have said. It would alleviate some of the devastating consequences that oral health problems can have on overall health, disease and even risk of death. Researchers warn that healthcare practitioners can incite shame in patients both intentionally and unintentionally. When shaming is…

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Road reopens after serious A38 crash in Devon

The A38 near Plymouth has reopened following a serious car crash.Devon and Cornwall Police said it was called to the crash near Plympton at about 15:00 BST.National Highways said the westbound carriageway was shut between the B3416 Plympton and the A374 Plymouth, with long delays of about 45 minutes. Diversion routes were in place.Police said injuries had been reported to officers but they were not thought to be life-changing or life-threatening. Source link

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University maths schools are driving social mobility and success, analysis shows

University-sponsored maths sixth forms such as the Exeter Mathematics School are having a transformative impact on the lives of young people across England, a landmark new study shows. The independent evaluation by the Observatory for Mathematical Education (OME) finds the specialist schools boost attainment and progression and significantly widen participation in mathematics and STEM. The analysis shows female students, those from under-represented ethnic groups, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds all progress at higher rates to mathematically intensive…

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Woman’s £8k theft from Plymouth charity ‘a betrayal’

Woman’s £8k theft from Plymouth charity ‘a betrayal’

Ian S/GeographGeorgina Mary Thompson, 40, was handed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for a yearA woman stole almost £8,000 from a charity she worked for, a court has heard.Georgina Mary Thompson was handed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, a 24-month supervision order and ordered to pay compensation of £3,600 after admitting charges of fraud by abuse of position and theft from the person of another.Plymouth Magistrates' Court heard the 40-year-old took £7,877.87 from Friends and…

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Battle goes on over reopening of closed Dryden Road in Exeter

A highly controversial road closure will be the subject of a public consultation, it has been decided.Dryden Road in Exeter was closed to motorists temporarily in June 2020 and then permanently in 2022, to try to reduce traffic and create a safer cycling route.Campaigners against the closure said the move had increased congestion and pollution for people living nearby but cyclist groups said safety was paramount and the road should remain closed to cars.The Exeter Highways and Traffic…

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A woman’s place was not in the home: New book challenges assumptions about women’s work in early modern history

A woman’s place was not in the home: New book challenges assumptions about women’s work in early modern history

New research has revealed that women played a fundamental role in the development of England’s national economy before 1700. Far from being the unpaid homemakers and housewives of traditional historical record, women contributed to all the most important areas of the economy, such as agriculture, commerce, and care. More than half of the work done by women in the period between the 16th and 18th centuries took place outside of the home, and around half of all housework…

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Devon museums get share in government cash to stay open

Three museums in the region have been given government funding to help them remain open.The South West Heritage Trust (SWHT), which runs the North Devon Record Office and Devon Heritage Centre, was given £503,131 from the £20m Museum Renewal Fund.The Box in Plymouth was awarded £184,215, while Exeter City Council received £114,202.SWHT chief executive Sam Astill said the funding would help the team carry out a development programme to strengthen the resilience of its museums.Victoria Pomery, chief executive…

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Research Quality powers Exeter rise in global league table

The quality of research conducted by the University of Exeter has helped to consolidate its position among the best in the world in the latest global league table. The University climbed two places in the 2026 THE World University Rankings to 170th out of almost 2,200 assessed internationally, inside the top eight per cent. Among the drivers for this improvement was in Research Quality, in which the University was ranked 52nd. It also scored highly for International Outlook…

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Sir Sajid Javid to lead Exeter’s largest ever fundraising campaign

The University of Exeter is delighted to announce alumnus the Rt Hon Sir Sajid Javid as chair of its new fundraising campaign, which will launch in 2026. Sir Sajid (Economics and Politics, 1991, Hon LLD 2025) will lead Exeter’s ambition to secure £150 million in philanthropic donations, and secure 150,000 volunteering hours by the end of the decade, in support of the University’s ‘2030 Strategy’ to create a Greener, Healthier and Fairer future. Full details of the campaign…

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Woman found on Devon road died from chest injuries, inquest hears

A woman who was found dead on a road outside a property died from chest and abdominal injuries, an inquest has heard.Aimee Pike, 22, died on the A379 Embankment Road at New Bridge, Kingsbridge, Devon, in the early hours of 23 April 2025, the inquest in Exeter heard.Rowan Sutton, 30, of West Charleton Court, Kingsbridge, denied her murder and is due to stand trial next summer at Plymouth Crown Court.Coroner Deborah Archer said Ms Pike's cause of death…

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Researchers discover of a new type of diabetes in babies

Advanced DNA sequencing technologies and a new model of stem cell research has enabled an international team to discover a new type of diabetes in babies. The University of Exeter Medical School worked with Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Belgium and other partners to establish that mutations in the TMEM167A gene are responsible for a rare form of neonatal diabetes. Some babies develop diabetes before the age of six months. In over 85 per cent of cases this is due genetic…

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