ELITE Driving School Croydon
Join the thousands of people that have learnt to drive with our automatic and manual instructors in Croydon.
ELITE Driving School was actually founded in Croydon in 2007, and before relocating to Redhill 2017 our office was based in Airport House on Purley way. As such we have a well established team of both manual and automatic driving instructors providing driving lessons in the Croydon area, including coverage in surrounding areas of Wallington, Sanderstead, Purley, Thornton Heath and Coulsdon.
Croydon is a busy area, and driving around it can be challenging, especially with congested traffic, buses, trams, cyclists, electric scooters, and pedestrians. Our knowledgeable local driving instructors know the area well, and can help you navigate all of these challenges.
There are several large roundabouts to negotiate, one way systems, as well as no entry and pedestrianised areas. Therefore reading of traffic signs and road markings is a vital skill that your instructor will help you to develop from an early stage in your driving lessons.
The Croydon driving test centre in Canterbury Road closed in 2022, but there was Mitcham test centre located just down the road. However, that too was closed for safety reasons in mid 2024, and tests have been conducted from a temporary centre located at the Hilton Hotel on Purley Way since. Other Nearby test centres include West Wickham, Bromley, and Morden which are also within a reasonable distance.
Below you’ll find all of our instructor profiles, which include a short biography about each instructor, photos of them and their cars, and most importantly reviews from previous pupils that have taken driving lessons with them. We provide this in order to help you find the perfect driving instructor to suit you. To book just simply complete our short enquiry form and we’ll get straight back to you with availability.

Driving lessons with ELITE are normally 2 hours long. Taking 2 hours at a time is proven to be most productive for pupils, as this allows for repetition of manoeuvres, the ability to experience multiple driving environments, especially in congested areas like Croydon, and normally this accelerate learning, and results in fewer hours needed overall. However, if after the first lesson you have an issue with 2 hours then you can discuss it with the instructor and they can normally shorten future lessons to 1.5 hours.
We provide our free Theory Test Pro App to all of our pupils to help with preparation for the theory test, plus you’ll get our free Total Drive App to help track your bookings and monitor your progress, as well other useful learning resources and tips to help you pass your practical driving test.
Croydon Driving Instructors
Croydon Driving Lessons Testimonials

Driving Lessons in Croydon
“I took my manual driving lessons with Sue from Elite Driving and I would really recommend Sue to anyone! I really enjoyed our lessons each week, Sue made me feel confident and comfortable driving and her knowledge really helped me pass first time! Thank you so much Sue!”
09 January 2025

Want to become a driving instructor?
If you’re looking to train as an Approved Driving Instructor then make sure you do plenty of research first. You’ll find everything you need to know here.
Before you start training, read reviews from instructors that have trained and qualified with ELITE, we have a qualification rate far exceeding the national average.
What to expect from your driving lessons
Number of driving lessons
We’re often asked how many driving lessons will be needed before passing the driving test. The DVSA state the average learner takes around 50 hours of professional lessons, plus 20 hours of private practice. In reality most pupils that learn with ELITE take far fewer hours than this. However, it is impossible to answer accurately how many hours are needed, as it varies hugely due to many influencing factors. Firstly, everyone learns at a different rate. Some individuals are naturally gifted with coordination and car controls, and others need more practice to perfect the required skills.
Learning in a manual or automatic
Then there is the consideration of whether you are learning to drive a manual or automatic car. More lessons may be needed in a manual, it all depends how quickly you develop clutch control. Although once you have mastered the basic controls to operate either vehicle type, the majority of learning hours are spent developing the skills needed to read the road, plan, anticipate the actions of other road users, and manage risks on the road. So whether to learn in a manual or automatic car is a personal choice, and at the moment it’s around a 50/50 split which one people are choosing.
Learning in different areas
The area in which you are learning to drive and taking your driving test could also affect the number of lessons you need. Learning to drive in more densely populated towns like Croydon and Morden will have different challenges compared to somewhere more rural like Redhill. It’s different again in somewhere like Crawley, due to the volume of large roundabouts and high speed dual carriageways. The simple fact is that you should take as many lessons as you need to become a safe and competent driver.
What’s involved
All ELITE instructors will discuss your learning style, objectives, and time frames, and between you work out the best structure for your lessons leading up to a test. You will then be test ready, and confident to drive anywhere after you’ve passed the driving test. We provide a free Theory Test Pro App to help you prepare for your theory test. Plus we provide a free Total Drive App to make it simple to track your driving lesson bookings, get reminder notifications, track learning progress, and payments. There is even a free parent App too.