Isabelle Gray

Hi! I am student at City University studying MA Magazine Journalism. I am also a co-founder of 'gals in journalism'. During my time at University, I have been Comment Editor and Print Senior Editor at Exeposé. I have written at multiple publications including Exeposé, Razz Magazine and the Financial Times. I am a SPA Comment Piece Award nomination recipient.

Liverpool Echo •

Hundreds of Liverpool families can claim free childcare vouchers

Hundreds of Liverpool families are missing out on free childcare vouchers according to the latest government figures. Less than seven in 10 eligible toddlers in the city are currently benefiting from free early-years education according to the Department of Education. This means the parents of an estimated 879 two-year olds across Liverpool aren’t getting any of the government-funded childcare they’re entitled to, despite being eligible for up to 15 hours a week. There are currently an estimat
Notion •

Have You Met Devon?

After a year’s run of successful singles, Devon has solidified his sound with the new song “WHY DO WE WAKE UP? (BEFORE THE GOOD BIT)”. Hailing from the Forest of Dean, Devon equates the intimacy of living in a tiny area alongside a desire for somewhere bigger, louder, and new. His confident and demanding sound is definitely something that has developed over time. Devon started out by forcing himself to perform in tiny pubs in his hometown to three or four strangers. Since then, he has learned
RAZZ •

Recognising Frontline Workers on the Cover of British Vogue

The July 2020 front cover of British Vogue celebrated three workers on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic. Photographer Jamie Hawkesworth captured Narguis Horsford, a train driver on the London Overground; Rachel Millar, a 24-year-old community midwife in East London; and Anisa Omar, a 21-year-old supermarket worker in King’s Cross. Editor-in-chief Edward Enninful described the three women as representing “the millions of people in the UK who, at the height of the pandemic, in the face of
Exeposé •

Harvey Weinstein and silencing of women

As reported in the Guardian, the once legendary figure in the film industry, Harvey Weinstein, was convicted to 23 years in prison over charges of rape and sexual abuse. The cases and his conviction created a conversation that demanded an end to the silencing of victims of sexual abuse and the crowning of abusers. It could be argued that Weinstein lived a double life. While being a husband and father, he and his company ‘reinvent(ed) the model for independent films’, with films such as Pulp Fic
RAZZ •

Finding the Joy in the Mundane

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the world was forced into reactionary mode. Measures of varying degrees took place around the globe. The UK is now in lockdown, with no knowledge of when measures will be alleviated. As a result, an influx of articles and social media posts occurred, all in the name of ‘making the most’ of this period and being as productive as possible. All over my feed is the encouragement to learn a language, become TikTok famous and begin my training for the 2021 marathon. For
Exeposé Online •

The unseen costs of elephant tourism

Isabelle Gray interrogates the wildlife industry’s ongoing abuse of elephants, and poses what we can do to help After a long-haul flight, and a two-hour car journey, I had reunited with my friend who had moved to Sri Lanka. Myszka, who had gone to Sri Lanka to volunteer on an elephant project for a week, came back with the news he would soon be moving there permanently, to be the new project lead. On the car journey over, it was golden hour. Admittedly, I was very sleep-deprived, and I recall i
Exeposé Online •

Sexual assault triples in Exeter since 2010

EXCLUSIVE: Criminal reports of sexual assault in the city of Exeter have tripled in the past ten years, but the number of successful criminal charges has dropped from 23 per cent to three per cent. Over 328 reports of sexual assault were submitted to Devon & Cornwall Police between 2018 and 2019, but only three per cent of the reports resulted in a criminal charge, Exeposé has found. From 2010 to 2011, 121 sexual assaults were reported, with 23 per cent resulting in criminal charges. However,
Isabelle Gray •

In Conversation with: No More Parties In Exeter

Yesterday afternoon I sat down with Teejay Adenowo, electrical engineer student and of No More Parties in Exeter. Despite only in his second year of Exeter, he gave me all the details on his plans for revolutionising the night scene here, whilst exposing the problematic realities we currently have at the fingertips of our favourite night clubs. Growing up in Nigeria and completing his final teenage years in Lancashire, its safe to say Adenowo has been witness to a lot of different people and the
Isabelle Gray •

Searching for nothing

I like to fix things. I’ve always been a curious person who asks a lot of questions. I like to know how things work and get to the bottom of things. When something goes wrong in my life, my first instinct is to fix it. I *like* confrontation because that usually implies some sort of solution, fast. I’m also a person that has a lot of interests, and likes to have their fingers in a lot of pies (as grotesque that analogy is). As a result of those two qualities, if something I enjoy is too hard or
Exeposé Online •

Exeter ranks as the fourth least inclusive university in the UK

On 20 September The Times and Sunday Times released their Good University Guide (STGUG) for 2020. The guide details an overall ranking, amongst other statistics such as social inclusion. Exeter ranked highly overall, achieving the 12th position. Exeter was also identified as 2nd in the South West. Despite these notable successes, when it came to social inclusion rankings, Exeter was placed at 111th for social inclusion out of a total of 115. Social inclusion is rated under percentiles of the f
Isabelle Gray •

In Conversation with: South Sounds

About a week ago, I managed to have the pleasure of having the modern-day conversation with the women behind ‘SouthSounds’, aka a back and forth voice note exchange on Whatsapp. Of course, I am referring to the brilliant Gaia Ahuja and Matty Chiabi who have started a very exciting new venture, SouthSounds, already selling out two events at a local arts space to promote young talent, all raising money for that same space. We talked about what exactly SouthSounds is, it’s past, present and future,
Exeposé Online •

The price of moving away

BEING away from home and being at university is at first a strange feeling, one that definitely takes getting used to. I felt this especially in the first year, as all of us probably did. You’re in a new place, you don’t really know what’s going on or where anything is. Now being in my second-year stint of university, I’ve realised a whole new feeling when it comes to being far away from home. At first, I was missing my family a lot and the comfort of being at home, and now I’ve realised how th
Isabelle Gray •

End of year reflections

The time has come again for an end of year reflection. I’m an extremely reflective person as it is, so this is a very natural process for me. I’ve been asked a few times what my resolutions are, and despite never being that great at thinking of resolutions, or that great at actually trying to complete them, this year there is one that feels completely right. It’s simply to, be less hard on myself and give myself a break. It’s been a very tough year in some ways and It’d be very easy to say 2018
Exeposé Online •

Summer Blues

Throughout my academic life, I always thought of the last week of August to be the big Sunday. The last hoorah. The existential dread starts to kick in, it feels a little colder at night, the light late nights seem to become a distant memory. Nostalgia is a cruel thing that seems to hit us before, or even during something we know we’ll miss. Do you ever spend time with someone and start to miss them while they’re right there because you know they’ll be going soon? That’s like the end of summer f
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