The number of families given their first choice of secondary school in Brighton and Hove has fallen.

Hundreds failed to secure a place for their child at their school of choice and 40 are still waiting for appeals to be heard.

This year 86.1 per cent were allocated their preferred secondary school, compared with 89.6 per cent last year. The fall has been blamed on high-profile campaigns by parents to change the way school places are allocated.

Pat Hawkes, chairwoman of children, families and schools at Brighton and Hove City Council, said: "We expected the figures to drop slightly because of the publicity about admissions.

"I am worried the figure has fallen. I'm not complacent about it; 86.1 per cent shows we still have a long way to go. Equally though, it's a huge challenge for us and geographically there are areas of grave difficulty, including Hanover, Queen's Park and Hove seafront."

She said a review group was reconvening to consider problems experienced by families in some areas.

Parents claim a 2004 change in admissions criteria from priority areas to a distance-only measure means they now live too far from popular schools to exercise any meaningful choice.

They launched two conflicting campaign groups to lobby other parents during a public consultation by the council.

Plans to select pupils for Dorothy Stringer School, Brighton, on how close they live to The Level, and half of applications for Blatchington Mill School, Hove, on how close they live to Sussex County Cricket Ground, have been dropped for September 2007 because of lack of support.

Mick Landmann has just won an appeal to get daughter Charlotte, 11, in to Dorothy Stringer.

He was one of 465 parents who applied for 308 places, although 338 were finally admitted. Mr Landmann, of Freshfield Road, Brighton, said: "I wouldn't wish the appeals process on my worst enemy. First preference figures have gone down like we predicted and will go down again as a significant number of people fall foul of the system, which favours families in some areas."

In West Sussex, 94.4 per cent of parents got their first preference. In East Sussex it was 91.1 per cent.