Crossword Genius

Surpass alfresco student group? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

outclass

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'surpass' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'alfresco student group?' is the wordplay.
'alfresco' becomes 'out' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'student group?' becomes 'class' (I've seen this in another clue).
'out'+'class'='OUTCLASS'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for outclass that I've seen before include "Surpass greatly, be in a superior category" , "Do much better than" , "Be a cut above" , "put in the shade" , "Be superior to (another)" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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