The breed standard as per kennel club states a standard is anything over 38 cms / 15inch. The ones I've seen all seem a lot taller than that. What is the general height of show type standards ? Are there breeders who breed at the smaller end of the range and would they advertise as breeding smaller standards?

I've always fancied a poodle but the miniature is a bit small and the standards (Ive seen) too large but something around 16-17 inch would be about right for us which would be a standard.

Are there breeders who breed at the smaller end of the range and would they advertise as breeding smaller standards?

There are, and these tend to be referred to as Moyen Poodles; a size in between Mini and Standard. But this isn't a KC recognised size, so you will not find show breeders with them. In my somewhat limited experience those that have Moyens sometimes breed from unregistered dogs and as such you need to be extra careful when looking for a breeder, to avoid ones that breed just to make money and do not health test etc. There are however good breeders around that although not breeding for the showring take the utmost care.

Yes I've seen moyen / klein(?) as a size in europe. I think theres also the possibility in UK it wasnt just someone breeding a mini to a standard especially if unregistered.

There’s a poodle in our agility class that’s apparently 3/4 standard and 1/4 mini. He’s a really nice dog - jumps ridiculously high for his size which is very comical to watch. Of course with big jumps like that he’s never going to run a course terribly fast, but he’s having a fantastic time.