diff --git a/models/Database.php b/models/Database.php
index 66363b3c..c8e2e028 100644
--- a/models/Database.php
+++ b/models/Database.php
@@ -28,17 +28,17 @@ class Database
 	 */
 	public function __construct($server, $user, $password, $name)
 	{
-		$this->connection = @mysqli_connect($server, $user, $password, $name);
-
-		// Give up if we have a connection error.
-		if (mysqli_connect_error())
+		try
 		{
-			header('HTTP/1.1 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable');
+			$this->connection = new mysqli($server, $user, $password, $name);
+			$this->connection->set_charset('utf8mb4');
+		}
+		catch (mysqli_sql_exception $e)
+		{
+			http_response_code(503);
 			echo '<h2>Database Connection Problems</h2><p>Our software could not connect to the database. We apologise for any inconvenience and ask you to check back later.</p>';
 			exit;
 		}
-
-		$this->query('SET NAMES {string:utf8mb4}', ['utf8mb4' => 'utf8mb4']);
 	}
 
 	public function getQueryCount()