The school is in a fairly small rural village. Some parts of the village are very old and many of the houses were built at the turn of the twentieth century. This was when Dinorwig Slate Quarry was prosperous and employed so many local people. After this era very little building was seen in the area apart from the housing estate at Dolafon on the outskirts of the village and a few private houses.
Lately we have seen a definite improvement in the village with some new shops and businesses established here. At one time, there was some concern about the future of the village but now there is a feeling of new life and prosperity with obvious visual improvement made to houses, shops and property in general.

The natural and historical catchment area of the school are the villages of Cwm y Glo and Brynrefail. These days however, parents have the right to choose the school for their children. As a result of this we have children from several neighboring villages.

Over the years, the number of pupils in the school has steadily increased. In 1992 there were 40 pupils on roll. By 2002 there were 90 children on the register, and in 2008 we have 74 pupils. There are three full time teachers, one part time teacher and one classroom assistant.

In recent years, quite a number of families have moved into the area with a number of these being non-Welsh speakers. This has had an influence on the linguistic nature of the village but Welsh is the day to day language of the school and the language of most of the teaching.

Tea towel showing pupils 1993- 1994	Tea towel showing pupils 2000- 2001

Ysgol Brynrefail is the local catchment secondary school and the majority of pupils leaving Ysgol Cwm y Glo have attended this school.

As there is no other suitable hall or building for community activities in the village, a great deal of use is made of the school hall and community room. As a result, there is a very close relationship between the school and the people of the village and the wider community of Brynrefail.

We always try and maintain a happy and attractive atmosphere and environment in the school as we are very much aware that the public who use our school appreciate the children's work displayed around the building.