A group dedicated to making the town a tech hub has enlisted Google's help in its bid to get computer programming taught at all schools.
Croydon Tech City (CTC), which has been running for more than a year, wants to bring "Code Clubs" to the borough.
Code Club is a nationwide volunteer led project, whose patron is Prince Andrew, which already works with more than a thousand schools across the UK.
CTC said 12 schools schools in Croydon have already signed up to the scheme, and will use its Future Tech City event on November 30 to encourage others.
All of the town’s primary schools have been invited to the event which will encourage schools to set up a Code Club to teach nine to 11-year-olds how to program.
Speakers include the Financial Times’ chief technical officer and Croydon resident John O’Donovan and Matt Gaunt who is a Google developer.
Other speakers include Debbie Foster, the managing director of Apps For Good, Emma Mulqueeny who is the founder of Young Rewired State, Nigel Dias, co-founder of Croydon Tech City and Linder Sandvik, the founder of Code Club.
Jonny Rose, co-founder of Croydon Tech City, said it will be the largest ever educational tech event in Croydon.
He wants to show why young people should learn to code and how Croydon Tech City can deliver Code Clubs in primary schools.
Parents can also attend the event, which is free. A number of secondary schools will also attend the event but Code Club’s are not being expanded to them yet.
Mr Rose, from Purley, said: "Computer programming and coding skills are going to be very important for the next generation. They are going to be imperative to get a job.
"The aim of Future Tech City is to teach every young person in the borough and give them access to free coding classes.
"We have been going for a year now and as well as building up a strong start-up community we want to help and empower Croydon’s young people."
If you would like to attend Future Tech City, which runs from 10am to 1pm, email Jonny Rose at contact@croydontechcity.com.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here