In my opinion it's a very independent in the sense that you're expected to do a lot of work yourself l. You're not spoon fed but it's supportive in the sense that there are regular checks to make sure you're on track, they will chase up your homework or 'prep' as well call it. They will be checking you're progressing adequately and you're revising and completing any outside learning that you're supposed to. I think across the school departments you get a different experience but mostly the teachers are very very good and mostly experienced. I have yet to come across a bad teacher, there are obviously some teachers that have their problems but none that are outright bad. You won't find major disruptions in your classes that'll hinder your learning. The buildings quite small and you'll find that unless it's a lab, the classrooms are rarely locked so during break you can hang out in there. We have a lunch hall but that tends to get packed so most people just hang out in the classrooms. It's very safe, people leave their things about and I haven't heard of theft so far. In fact my friend left her phone in the toilet the other day and went back 30 minutes later to it still there. The assessment day is very relaxed and an opportunity to find out more about LAE. The assessment itself doesn't have a LARGE impact on your application but it has some, overall don't be too worried about it it's kinda like a verbal reasoning test. The interview is very relaxed as well teachers give you helpful prompts and generally just ask you about yourself it's not daunting whatsoever. Hope this was helpful
From my last year's LAE thread