There are 3 levels of honours degree: 1, 2 and 3 - usually referred to as a first, second or third. 1 is the highest, 3 is the lowest and 2 comes in between. 2 is divided into 2.1 and 2.2. In my day, people who were brilliant got a 1, those who worked hard got a 2.1, those who didn't work that hard but did some work got a 2.2 and those who did just enough not to get thrown off the course got a 3.