Former pupils of Treloar’s who were victims of the infected blood scandal will tell their story in a television documentary this week.

A total of 122 haemophiliac boys were infected with viruses including HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated Factor VIII blood clotting products given as treatment in an NHS clinic on the Alton school site during the 1970s and 1980s.

In The British Blood Scandal: Poisoned at School, on ITV at 9pm on May 20, some survivors from Treloar’s will bring this tragedy to the attention of the nation.

Former pupil Gary Webster said: “We were told this was a wonder drug and would change our lives and make me like a normal little boy. I was sticking needles in my arm four or five times a week - if you did miss it, sick bay would then report it to your housemaster and you got punished.”

Those haemophiliac children sent to the boarding school then known as Lord Mayor Treloar College were given the promise of a ‘normal childhood’ but instead became victims of medical research at the clinic.

The documentary follows the stories of some of the few survivors as they fight for truth and justice.

They explain how 24-hour care at Treloar’s removed the restrictions of the physical risks of their condition. The clinic, opened in the late 1970s, meant they could rapidly receive the revolutionary Factor VIII treatment on site.

Pupils and their parents thought factor concentrates were a miracle cure, but later discovered they were a death sentence for many because blood from which they were made was not screened for viruses or heat-treated to kill them.

Treloar’s pupil Steve Nicholls said: “I feel like we were groomed to conform. We were given all these fantastic opportunities, that’s what we’d focus on.

“We’d love to play for six or eight hours a day, go sailing, go fishing, come back and hold our arm out for half an hour to have an injection.

“It was a trade-off and it was the norm most days. We’re not talking have an injection every fortnight, it was most days.”

Of the 122 haemophiliacs who attended Treloar’s in the 1970s and 1980s, only around 30 are still alive. The film follows their journey leading up to the final report of the Infected Blood Inquiry, where they hope for long-awaited recognition of the truth.

Treloar’s said: “We sincerely apologise to our former students and their families who were so devastatingly infected and affected by the infected blood scandal. The treatment by clinicians of pupils at Treloar’s in the 1970s and 1980s was unethical and wrong.”

Looking at photographs from an 18th birthday party with some of his Treloar’s friends, Steve said: “We looked each other in the eye and said ‘Don’t worry mate, if any one of us is around and the others aren’t, you will take that legacy on and fight to get to the truth.’

“Unfortunately the other three have now passed and I’m making good on that promise. We will not stop until we get justice.”