A significant proportion of junior students fail to complete their secondary education and leave school early, in Sri Lanka. This is particularly true in low socio-economic districts. The inquiry sought to investigate school related conditions that impact early adolescents’ motivation and engagement in learning through exploring their perceptions. We apply the theoretical construct of self-determination theory to understanding students’ motivation and need for competency, autonomy and relatedness. The study used explanatory sequential mixed method research design. Survey data were gathered from ten, type two government schools: five schools were selected from each of the available Sinhala and Tamil medium schools located in the Moneragala and Nuwara Eliya districts. The Motivation and Engagement Scale-Junior School (Martin, 2014) was administered among 200 grade eight students and according to the scale scores, ten male and ten female students, identified as least motivated, were selected and agreed to be interviewed. Thematic analysis was applied to the data. The results inform two main qualitative themes in relation to school conditions that impact early adolescents’ motivation and engagement in learning: impact of human conditions and impact of physical conditions. Three main themes emerged within the impact of human conditions: student-teacher relationship, students’ lack of intrinsic motivation and influence of peers. Four themes emerged within the impact of physical conditions: difficult subject matter, difficult homework, lack of classroom resources and lack of school resources. It can be concluded that students experienced numerous problematic circumstances in relation to school conditions, particularly in Tamil medium schools and with male students. It is suggested that reducing attrition rates from secondary education requires early intervention to increase early adolescent motivation and engagement in learning and that Tamil medium schools are prioritized for action. It is imperative that future research examines early adolescents’ motivation and engagement at a subject-specific level.