http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2007121404315...
degrees come in different forms. An ordinary degree requires that you undertake atleast 300 credits across the 3 years and pass atleast 240 of them so you can have a BA or Bsc, if you undertake an hons degeree you have to undertake atleast 360 credits over the 3 years and on many (especially healthcare related) have to pass all 360 and the recieve a BA(Hons) or Bsc (Hons). An Honours degree basically means you have undertaken more work within the same time scale, its a harder degree!
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Honours is 120 credits per year, you do about 6 sub-topics per academic year, Law is usually an honours degree, you should always know what you are going to study for so that you're aware of all the work that there is to do. Should tell you on your results if you have (Hons)

Interesantan tekst:
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/Degree_Classifications
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme used to distinguish between the achievements of undergraduate degree holders (such as those gaining bachelor's degrees or undergraduate master's degrees) in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (often with minor variations) in other countries, such as the Republic of Ireland, Singapore and Hong Kong. It is similar to the Latin honours system used in the United States.
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The biggest distinction made is whether the degree is awarded with or without honours. Nowadays, nearly all candidates sit for honours; an ordinary (or pass) degree (i.e. a degree without honours) is usually awarded to a candidate who marginally fails the honours examination, or significant parts of it. A candidate who fails badly is usually allowed to retake the examination for a pass degree, as most universities prohibit such a student from receiving honours.
Most universities award a class of degree based on the average mark of the assessed work a candidate has completed. Below is a list of the possible classifications with common abbreviations. rough percentages for each class are also listed, these percentages vary between subjects and universities. Honours degrees are in bold:

First-Class Honours (First or 1st) (70% and above) (OPEN UNIVERSITY 85%+)
Upper Second-Class Honours (2:1, 2.i) (60-70%) (OPEN UNIVERSITY 70-85%)
Lower Second-Class Honours (2:2, 2.ii) (50-60%) (OPEN UNIVERSITY 55-70%)
Third-Class Honours (Third or 3rd) (40-50%) (OPEN UNIVERSITY 40-55%)
Ordinary degree (pass) (OPEN UNIVERSITY AWARDED AT 300 CATS POINTS)
Fail (no degree is awarded)
Unclassified (some degrees aren't classified eg medicine or masters degree)

The system does allow for a small amount of discretion and candidates may be elevated up to the next degree class if their average mark is close and they have submitted many pieces of work worthy of the higher class. However, they may be demoted a class if they fail to pass all parts of the course even if they have a high average.