Curriculum contextualisation and the role of teachers as curriculum makers are important for student learning. Building on this idea, this study was developed to understand if teachers from well-ranked schools are motivated to contextualise the curriculum and are using this strategy in their daily classroom routines. Data were gathered through focus group interviews with teachers from three Portuguese secondary schools that were well placed in the national exam ranking. The data analysis showed that teachers are motivated to contextualise the national curriculum in their daily teaching and learning practices to promote their students' academic success and full development. However, teachers also identified constraints related to the existence of a mandatory national curriculum to be fulfilled, which is necessary for the national exams, and the length of the subject programmes. Despite the constraints, teachers recognised the positive outcomes of curricular contextualisation, mostly regarding the promotion of students' motivation to learn.