Harris Academy Purley

St Giles School was opened in 1925 and was originally sited in Thornton Heath. In 1933 the school moved to Featherbed Lane, Croydon, close to what is now Forestdale and in 1977 it moved to its current site in Pampisford Road. It is a special school located in South Croydon in the London Borough of Croydon, England. The school is a specialist school for physical and sensory needs and is for pupils with physical disabilities and complex medical needs from 4 – 16, and pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) from 11 to 19. The school admits pupils from Croydon and the surrounding boroughs. The school has onsite medical and therapy provision with nurses and healthcare assistants on the school site at all times whilst the pupils are in school.

The Colonnades Leisure Park (also known as Croydon Colonnades) is an out-of-town leisure park located in the Purley Way retail and industrial district of the London Borough of Croydon, South London. It opened in the late 1990s on the former site of the Croydon Water Palace, an indoor water park complex that operated from 1990 to 1996. It lies alongside the Purley Way Playing Fields, and opposite the former Croydon Airport site. The site is currently owned and operated by Croydon Council who finally completed the purchase in August 2019 at a cost of more than £50m.

The Croydon Water Palace was an indoor water park complex that opened in 1990 on Purley Way in Waddon in the London Borough of Croydon, opposite Croydon Airport. It featured four water slides, a large jacuzzi area, a lazy river and a wave pool using an artificial wave-making machine. There was also an on-site café. It was part of the Purley Way retail development drive that occurred in the early 1990s, which also saw the creation of the Valley Park Retail Area. The Water Palace experienced continuous financial difficulties, and finally closed in 1996. Throughout its lifespan, the Water Palace was renowned for poor health and safety, and several accidents were publicised in the local press, although these were not the direct reasons for its closure. After closure, the site was sold for nearly £24m. It was then redeveloped in the late 1990s to become the Colonnades Leisure Park.

The 1924 Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash occurred on 24 December 1924 when de Havilland DH.34 G-EBBX of Imperial Airways crashed at Purley, Surrey, United Kingdom killing all eight people on board. The aircraft was operating a scheduled international flight from Croydon, Surrey, to Paris, France. It was the first fatal accident suffered by Imperial Airways and led to the first public inquiry into a civil aviation accident in the United Kingdom. As a result of issues brought up during the inquiry, Croydon Airport was expanded, absorbing most of Beddington Aerodrome.

The 1947 Croydon Dakota accident occurred on 25 January 1947 when a Spencer Airways Douglas C-47A Skytrain (Dakota) failed to get airborne from Croydon Airport near London, and crashed into a parked and empty ČSA Douglas C-47 destroying both aircraft and killing 11 passengers and one crew member.

Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. It opened in 1920, located in Croydon, then part of Surrey. Built in a Neoclassical style, it was developed as Britain's main airport, handling more cargo, mail, and passengers than any other UK airport at the time. Innovations at the site included the world's first air traffic control and the first airport terminal. During World War II the airport was named RAF Croydon as its role changed to that of a fighter airfield during the Battle of Britain; and in 1943 RAF Transport Command was founded at the site, which used the airport to transport thousands of troops into and out of Europe.After the Second World War, its role returned to civil aviation, but the role of London's primary international airport passed to London Heathrow Airport. Croydon Airport closed in 1959. It had been known under eight different names while it was active.In 1978, the terminal building and Gate Lodge were granted protection as Grade II listed buildings. In May 2017, Historic England raised the status of the terminal building to Grade II*. Owing to disrepair, the Gate Lodge is now classified as Heritage at Risk by Historic England.

Croydon Corporation Tramways operated a tramway service in Croydon between 1900 and 1933.

Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was previously a grammar school and direct grant grammar school, but the school's headmaster is now a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference.

Waddon () is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Croydon, at the western end of the town of Croydon. The area borders the London Borough of Sutton.

Purley Oaks railway station is in the London Borough of Croydon in south London, on the Brighton Main Line 12 miles 34 chains (20.0 km) measured from London Bridge. All trains serving it are operated by Southern and it is in London Travelcard Zone 6. The station has four platforms: a disused side platform on the up fast line, an island platform with a disused face on the down fast line and an eastern face used by up trains, and a side platform on the eastern side used by down trains. The two platforms are only used during engineering works. There is also a pay-and-display car park at the station. The ticket office (staffed for part of the day) is on the island platform with two self-service ticket machines in the subway beneath the station. There used to be a self-service PERTIS (permit to travel) ticket machine. A short walk away from Purley Oaks is Sanderstead railway station, also in Zone 6, with services to Victoria and East Grinstead.

The Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society (CNHSS) is a cultural society based in Croydon, south London, that concerns itself with the local history, archaeology, natural history and geology of the London Borough of Croydon and adjacent areas. It was founded in 1870; and is a registered charity (no 260739).

South Croydon in south London is the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon and running as far south as the former Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is bounded by Waddon to the West and Selsdon and Sanderstead to the East. It is part of the South Croydon (CR2) post town and in the London Borough of Croydon. It is essentially a dormitory suburb for Croydon and London.