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hen Jo Mitchelhill and her husband, Graham, chose a private school in Canterbury for their daughter Jessica, 11, the cost of getting to school didn’t cross their minds. Yet the decision would end up costing them more than £9,000 a year.

The Mitchelhills, from Sittingbourne, Kent, picked a school in Canterbury, 22 miles away, committing to seven years of 44-mile commutes, twice a day, five days a week. They also drive their daughter to clubs and competitions, meaning that their “mum and dad taxi service” could rack up as much as 800 miles a week.

It’s a story many can relate to. Parents spend an average of 176 hours a year driving their children round, adding up to an astonishing 3,000 miles, according to Motorway, an online car marketplace.

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