Narrow flag provided for group of pupils with hesitation (8)
I believe the answer is:
streamer
'narrow flag' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'group of pupils with hesitation' is the wordplay.
'group of pupils' becomes 'stream' (I've seen this before).
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'hesitation' becomes 'er' (sound made while hesitating - um, er).
'stream'+'er'='STREAMER'
'provided for' is the link.
(Other definitions for streamer that I've seen before include "awful cold?" , "terrible cold?" , "Long strip used for decoration or advertising" , "Ribbon for throwing" , "Long 23 ac or ribbon" .)