A SPECIAL needs teacher and one of her pupils have sailed around the Caribbean on the Gipsy Moth IV yacht.

Karen Kampey and Jamie Hallett, 16, were invited by the UK Sailing Academy (UKSA) to sail from Antigua to Barbados to join in the vessel's Bluewater Round the World Rally.

The UKSA asked people from disadvantaged backgrounds or with learning difficulties to join the team for its 32-stop tour of the world.

Ms Kampey works at a Highshaw special needs school in Peckham.

The 46-year-old, of Bellenden Road, Sidcup, said: "Jamie really enjoyed himself. It increased his confidence and broadened his horizons.

"The trip was absolutely amazing and it has given me a totally different perspective on life."

The Gipsy Moth IV set sail from Plymouth on September 25 last year, following its rededication by the Princess Royal earlier that month.

The boat was restored by the UKSA after years of neglect in dry dock at Greenwich following a campaign by Yachting Monthly magazine.

Sir Francis Chichester completed the first solo circumnavigation of the globe in the yacht in 1967.