Sweeping changes could be made to the school admissions system as a review gets underway to try and ease the pressure on the city’s bulging schools.

The review of Brighton and Hove’s secondary school admissions procedure will begin at the end of the month and gives councillors the option of scrapping the current catchment area system.

Experts could also recommend the catchment areas’ demographic are changed as well as altering the way students who miss out on their first choice due to oversubscription are re-allocated.

At the moment, the system is based on catchment areas, with random allocation used as a tie-breaker if oversubscribed.

The chair of the children and young people committee, Councillor Sue Shanks, said: “The current system was introduced because it was felt to be fairer to more people than the previous system, which did not have catchment areas and simply used home to school distance as the tie-breaker.

“Since it was introduced I believe it has worked well for the city overall. However, with the changes in secondary pupil numbers forecast for the next few years it’s time to have another look at what’s going to work best for our city.”

One parent who supports the review is Laura Dunk, 30, who said her daughter Ruby has been allocated St Joseph’s, 1.5 miles away from her home in Kingsmere, Brighton, despite first choice St Bernadette’s being 50 yards away.

She said: “It’s definitely what we need. We live right next door to a school and we’re being told to walk probably more than an hour to another. It’s ridiculous.”

The review has been welcomed by headteachers across the city, including Hove Park’s Derek Trimmer, who said: “It is important that the local authority, parents and schools work together to provide the best quality of education.”

The review was prompted by the growth in students applying for secondary school places, catchment areas having too few people living in them and insufficient school spaces.

Consultation is expected to run until January 9 or 16.