This article focuses on the inequalities of an educational policy that favours English over the national language and the resulting impacts on young people. While the constitution identifies Dhivehi to be the official language of the Maldives, and the National Curriculum recognises both Dhivehi and English as languages of instruction, English has been the dominant language in education for several decades. This English-first policy was initiated to modernise and develop the small island nation, limiting the space for Dhivehi in the curriculum. Following a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the study investigates three aspects of this dual-language context. It examines students' attitudes towards Dhivehi and English, compares their language attainment, and considers the extent to which the curriculum fulfils students' linguistic needs. The findings indicate that students' attainment in Dhivehi lags behind their attainment in English and that many students feel inadequate and unprepared for the real-world demands of both their languages. Furthermore, while young people recognise the uniqueness of Dhivehi and are proud to be affiliated with the language, they have a much higher regard for English because it is viewed as being more useful for their upward mobility. The implications for policy and practice are explored.