I might ask athena to sticky this/add it to the faq or whatever.
When you do you AS exams your school has the option to certificate or 'cash in' them there and then (thus turning them into AS levels) or else wait until you've finished your A2 year. The advantage for the school in leaving them uncertificated is that they don't have decline your AS level in order for you to resit a module, which is just another bit of hassle that they'd rather avoid.
If your school has certificated your AS levels (ie. it says on your results slip AS Mathematics : grade A) then you put down your overall grade are 'recommended' to add the module grades as well. (as in A, B, C etc. *not* the actual UMS score). This information will be seen by all the universities you apply to.
If your school has not certificated your AS levels you put them down as 'pending' on ucas and the only way universities will know how you did in your AS levels is if you or your referee tell them.
Originally Posted by http://www.ucas.com/apply08/education/educationdetails
For GCE Advanced Subsidiary (AS) subjects, we refer to 'certification' of qualifications. You 'certificate' an AS subject when you claim or 'cash in' the results. For GCE AS subjects, you can choose when you 'certificate' your results. If you have certificated a GCE Single Award and you are taking a GCE Double Award, you must enter the GCE Single Award with a grade and the GCE Double Award with the grade pending.
You must list all subjects that have been certificated (also known as 'claimed' or 'cashed in') at GCE AS and ASVCE level. This includes subjects which you are taking at A2 level. You should also include a subject even if you are re-sitting a unit to improve your A2 grade. However subjects that have not been certificated cannot be listed.
If you have any doubts about the 'certification' of your AS subjects, you should check with your school or college, or whoever is helping you with your application.
For certificated qualifications you are recommended to include details of all units with a separate result/grade, but which are incorporated into the overall qualification grade.
If you have certificated an AS level and are continuing the subject to A2, you should:
1. enter the AS level, overall grade and unit titles and grades that make up the AS;
2. enter the same subject as an A level with the overall grade as pending and then list only the A2 units with the grades as pending. You should not re-enter the AS unit details for the A level.