The inquiry into an education authority's rules on allocating school places will be led by a Government adviser.

Dr Bryan Slater, who was chief education officer for Norfolk until earlier this year, has been appointed by Brighton and Hove City Council to review its admissions policy for secondary schools.

The Department for Education and Skills adviser, who was once a chemistry teacher and has written a number of school textbooks, will be joined by councillors from across the political spectrum, a secondary headteacher and a secondary school governor.

Councillors agreed to hold the review earlier this year after hundreds of parents from east Brighton said the introduction of a distance-only criteria for school admissions had left them unable to exercise choice over secondary placements because they lived too far away from popular schools.

Before the change, the council used priority areas but also took into consideration travel routes and how easily children could get to school. It meant pupils on the edge of the area could still opt for the school of their choice.

More than 700 parents signed a petition against the new policy, which was handed to the city council in April.

Councillor Pat Hawkes, chairwoman of the children, families and schools committee, said: "Dr Slater's record speaks for itself. We're delighted someone of his calibre has agreed to chair this very important working group.

"We need to ensure all families are given a fair choice for their children's education. No system will ever give 100 per cent of parents their preferred school but I hope this new working group can investigate alternatives that will satisfy more parents."

The working group will meet for the first time on Tuesday and then regularly over the next eight months. It will hold a number of public meetings to hear evidence from parents and other interested parties and will carry out a public consultation.

Legislation demands any changes to school admissions procedures require 18 months notice before the start of the school year. So the earliest any changes could be put in place would be 2007.