Colegio de la Preciosa Sangre de Pichilemu[n 1] (Spanish pronunciation: [koˈlexjo ðe la pɾeˈsjosa ˈsaŋɡɾe ðe pitʃiˈlemu] ⓘ, 'Pichilemu School of the Precious Blood'), often shortened to Preciosa Sangre, is a coeducational Roman Catholic private state-subsidized day school, serving students in preschool (Chile's pre-kínder) through twelfth grade (cuarto medio), located in the commune of Pichilemu, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, Chile.

It was founded in April 1947 by the Chilean Congregation of the Precious Blood as a girls' school under the name of Escuela Doctor Eugenio Díaz Lira.

For this purpose, he constructed a hotel, a post office, a park, among other structures and buildings, which attracted wealthy families from Chile and Argentina.

[9] After his death, Díaz Lira's wife and his daughters decided to donate his summer residence to the Chilean Congregation of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Under the request of the General Superioress of the Congregation Mother María Úrsula Montes Rojas, the house was turned into a free girls' school, which was founded in April 1947 under the name of Escuela de Niñas Particular N° 16 Doctor Eugenio Díaz Lira (English: Doctor Eugenio Díaz Lira 16th Girls' Private School), in honour of the late physician.

[15] Preciosa Sangre aims to give students "integral development, academic excellence", with emphasis in religious values.

[3][15] Colegio de la Preciosa Sangre is governed by the Chilean Congregation of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

[11] The parents' center (centro de padres y apoderados) of Preciosa Sangre is presided since 2012 by Mónica Cornejo Rojas.

[32] The school also conducts a preuniversitario, which consists of special courses to prepare the students for the Prueba de Selección Universitaria (PSU) test.

[32] Preciosa Sangre's athletic club also has hosted tournaments, including CheerPichilemu, a cheerleading competition which, in 2007, had fifteen participating teams.

[38][39][40] The cheerleading squad of Preciosa Sangre, Cheer C.P.S., is coached by physical education teacher Claudio Rojas Covarrubias, who founded it in 2007.

The team, composed of 28 teenagers —most of them Preciosa Sangre students— and their teacher Claudio Rojas, collected funds to travel to the United States by participating in several national tournaments and with the help of the municipality of Pichilemu and the O'Higgins Region government.

[49] In the second competition, Jamfest Nationals (Jam-Bash Series Orlando), held on 6 April 2013, they obtained the first place in the Senior (Co-Ed) Cheer, Best Choreography category.

[50][51][52] After taking knowledge of the news of their accomplishment, Governor of Cardenal Caro Province Julio Ibarra Maldonado said that "Pichilemu is celebrating [their triumph],"[53] something which was also reported by the local media.

[54] Upon their arrival in Chile on 9 April,[55] they were received by President Sebastián Piñera at the Palace of La Moneda in Santiago, along with the Governor of Cardenal Caro, and Mayor of Pichilemu Roberto Córdova.

[56][57] The team's achievement was described by news program 24 Horas of state channel Televisión Nacional de Chile as "coming from a distant beach resort in the region of O'Higgins to conquer North American lands.

[61] The team participated for the first time in the National English Debates Tournament organized by the English Opens Doors program from the Chilean Ministry of Education in 2011, and made it to the regional finals, reaching the second place, losing against the San Fernando College team from San Fernando, discussing the topic "This house believes that unhealthy food should be more expensive than healthy food.

"[62] Despite they only reached the second place in the competition, they were homaged by mayor of Pichilemu Roberto Córdova Carreño, and the Provincial Education Director, Abelardo Sepúlveda Vargas, in a ceremony held at the school on 26 October of that year.

[66] Kick-Ass, however, ultimately lost the regional finals against Colegio San Fernando College; this latter reached the second national place, in August 2013.

[68] A team from Preciosa Sangre, led by Spanish language teacher Fabián Valle Silva, participated in the Olimpíadas de Actualidad (News Olympics), a competition organized by the Chilean Asociación Nacional de Prensa (National Press Association), INACAP, and El Rancagüino newspaper.

[72] Students from Preciosa Sangre have participated in several competitions and activities besides the English Debates Tournament and the Olimpiadas de Actualidad.

With the support of the Governor of Cardenal Caro, Julio Ibarra, seven students represented Preciosa Sangre in the activity, in August 2011.

[73] The Preciosa Sangre team was led by history teacher Erna Pereira Arenas, and the students represented the country of Trinidad and Tobago.

[75][76][77] In the first edition of Sé Reportero (Be a Reporter), a competition organized in 2011 by national newspaper El Mercurio and educarchile, Diego Grez Cañete from Preciosa Sangre was awarded the second place in the Opinion Column category, with an article called "¿Educación gratuita?"

According to Jorge Nasser Guerra from Radio Entreolas, and an article published on Diario VI Región, Roberto Córdova Carreño, who was eventually elected, rejected to participate in the debate because he "would not attend that kind of events", while Iván Cabrera Martínez "never responded the students' invitation".

[89] Among former students of the Colegio de la Preciosa Sangre de Pichilemu are Jorge Vargas González (born 1966), a local politician who served as councilor of Pichilemu between 1992 and 1996, and later as mayor of the commune, between 1996 and 2007;[90] and Rebeca Cofré Calderón (born 1962), current mayor of Chépica, in Colchagua Province, who initially took office in December 2008 and was re-elected in 2012 to a second term.