In terms of Canadian programming: it depends from club to club. My DS started with group lessons in LTS (Canskate); but, was privately coached in addition even then. At the pre-pre stage, there were some (grudging) group lessons (that's axel, working on first double) - but, he was quickly pulled into strictly private for a number of reasons, primarily our preference to have him with a single coach who would control his progress.
In some clubs, small groups are used as part of the program. It depends on the structure, however, competitive skaters do have a base coach who monitors an controls.
He currently has a base coach, a choreo, a dance coach, a transitions/footwork coach, and a spins coach. The axel and doubles have come and gone with puberty and growth spurts, and we do have some triples, and, we are just getting past that 10 to 14 year old age spot. However, he is increasingly a rarity. The majority of boys he started with have quit, and we are seeing more and more dropping every year. Growth spurts are brutal on boys: the 6 inches of height in a year, and the changing body dimensions, plus, what I am seeing more and more of, back and hip and knee damage from overtraining the adolescent body (boys DO like to jump!) which are meaning that they have to quit for health reasons. He has stuck it out due to sheer stubbornness, a love to skate, and a coach who kicks his butt on a regular basis. It's hard being the only boy on the ice ... and at competitions ... etc etc etc. Our solution has been to ensure that he has a "guy" team sport to do along with skating - that way he gets his fix of sweaty, grimy, grubbly male testosterone-laden antics and behaviours
... in other words, a sport that requires a jock strap instead of a dance belt!
Now, the diet your kid has. I am seeing a lot of sugar in it - the breakfast, the sports drink, etc, most of which are empty calories. That's not a good diet to skate on. You need protein, and complex carbohydrates. There is a reason why they are telling you not to bring sweets to the rink: they are not suitable for a sport that requires sustained energy. If his weight is a problem, simple sugars won't do it - they'll just take away his appetite for good food, and he'll have a sugar spike and crash. If you are looking for something "sweet" that is healthy, feed him chocolate milk: this is now considered a sport-healthy additive to training, and it endorsed by sport nutrionists (for some reason, it reduces lactic acid and speeds muscle recovery). I'd also cut back on the citrus fruits: these are high in sugar. Bananas are great, they are potassium laden ... so, those are a great quick snack. Granola bars we steer clear of: lots of sugar, and they also cling to the teeth and cause cavities - ! But, that being said, if you look carefully, you will find some healthy granola bars, they're just hard to find among the chocolate covered ones with the marshmallows that are in the grocery aisle! We keep "emergency" protein drinks in the bag for between skating snacks, use a lot of peanut butter and real whole-grain bread, nuts, lean meats, cheese, fish, lower-glycemic fruits, omega-3 supplements, vegetables, whole-grain pastas (not white), and tons and tons of red meat (sorry, but, we do have a high protein diet going on). If we fed him a sugary snack ... then, the hunger is gone for the stuff that he needs to train on. And yes, we do do ice cream and that as a treat ... and yes, he is a kid who drops weight overnight, so I know about the skinny boy syndrome. However, once we essentially dropped simple sugar from his diet ... we were better able to pack on some muscle mass and healthy weight.
At eight, you are skating too much, as far as I can see, especially for a boy, and especially at his level. You will be far happier with having less skating, which is more focussed, and letting him be "hungry" for more instead of getting too much.
We have also been that route of the gender-opportunity jealousy. Learn to live with it. When my DD is in a flight with 35 girls, and he's in a flight with 3 boys (HEY! come last and get a medal!) plus gets to see special seminars, features at carnivals, etc etc etc ... it's not fair, but, it's a reality of being a guy. Doesn't mean my kid is uniquely talented - it just comes from being a guy instead of a girl, and in a sport with a shortage of boys - they get targetted for development, which is good/bad, as it can also lead to them burning out earlier ... but, that's another debate.