The school occupies a site of over 100 acres (0.40 km2) in gardens in a wooded estate two miles south-east of Croydon.

In 1924 the school moved to its present site two miles (3 km) south-east of Croydon within the ancient (and ecclesiastical) parish of Addington,[1][2] taking over a 110-acre (0.45 km2) lightly wooded estate.

Her first visit was in 1950 as Princess Elizabeth; in 1963 she opened Cambridge House and the Practical Block: she joined the celebrations of 125 years in 1979 and the sesquicentenary in 2003.

The school is now independent of the Warehousemen, Clerks and Drapers livery companies and operates as a charity under the direction of its own board of governors.

[3] In 2010 Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex (now the Duke of Edinburgh) visited the school, officially opening the Performing Arts Centre.

[3] The most recent ISI report, carried out in 2016, assessed the school in ten specific areas on a three-point scale: unsatisfactory, satisfactory and good.

Students undertake the required five subjects (if studying Triple Award Science this equates to six), plus four of their choice.

Each year the school's boys' houses compete in sports competitions in the annual house football (outdoor and indoor), hockey, basketball, badminton, table tennis, tennis, cricket, sports day activities and the cross-country event.

Other notable visitors include the newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald, the poet Brian Moses and the writer Jeremy Strong.

The school is involved in the Model United Nations (MUN) encouraging students from year 9 onwards to join.