A Muslim school teacher is trying to change stereotypes by taking part in an extreme sailing challenge.

Noreen Rahman, 32, left London yesterday as part of the Great Britain crew in the Clipper Round the World race.

Mrs Rahman, a maths teacher at Eden Girls’ School in Walthamstow, left London’s St Katharine Docks with the rest of her crew yesterday, to complete leg one of the race, crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

“I am a traditional, Muslim Pakistani woman and I want people to know that we do not have to be restricted by the bubble society has put us in,” Noreen said.

“I want girls like those I teach every day, to know that the world is their oyster and they can take part in challenges like sailing across the oceans.

“Already at my school, more girls are interested in sailing now and coming from London I cannot believe that Tower Bridge is going to open for me to sail through it.

“It makes me emotional just thinking about it.”

Like most of the 690 crew members taking part in the Clipper Round the World race Ms Rahman has been taking part in months of training to help her cope when battling the elements.

The amateur sailors have been taught to master the art of navigation, sail hauling and survival on the high seas.

She will be joined by airline pilots, lawyers, engineers, vets and even a couple of ballerinas, some paying as much as £45,000 each to take part in the entire round the world circuit, with less for shorter legs of the race.

The opening leg of the race takes the teams over 5,000 nautical miles from the British capital, across the Atlantic Ocean, including the challenging Doldrums, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Following the first stopover in Brazil, the fleet will continue on via Cape Town, Western Australia, Sydney, the Whitsundays, Vietnam, China, Seattle, Panama, New York, Derry-Londonderry and the Netherlands, before returning to London’s St Katharine Docks on July 2016.

Ms Rahman was introduced to David Cameron at No 10 on Friday, before Sunday’s departure.