It depends on the personality of the child, their level of intellect, and their strength of character.
To give you an example, I'm 19 years old, good at English, arty stuff, good communicator and thinker. I'm also a competitive person. Apart from the fact that I know, from personal experience, that kids are incredibly cruel to "different" ones, and would ridicule the fact that I was homescooled, my competitive, communicative nature would have helped me cope with going to public school.
My 17 year old brother, on the other hand, is shy, had a tremendous problem with English (still has trouble with some words today). This difficulty would not have been helped by the public school system, he would have got worse at English, lost his already low-self esteem and suffered.
My 15 year old brother is very smart and scheming. He wouldn't have suffered academically, but he would have got very frustrated because he has a low tolerance for subjects he consideres "irrelevant". He proabably would have got into trouble trying to con people out of their stationery or lunches or whatever!
My 13 year old brother is, from the point of a nasty school kid, a major geek, nerd, whatever they call "weirdos" today. He wouldn't have been able to make the transistion from the family environment of love and tolerance to the public school teasing environment. He plays the fool, but he's really quite sensitive. He would have suffered emotionally.
My little 10 year old sister is nothing but sweet, and she would have been spoiled. She's a toughie, and would have put on a tough mask, but I know that she'd be a sad little person underneath it all.
My youngest brother, 7, is mentally retarded, so he can't go to school yet anyway.
When you bring up kids in one environment and then suddenly everything's different, it's a big shock--like a divorce. Sure, they "cope" in their own peculiar way, but they're altered. I think it's important to avoid emotional distruptions to children, especially in the delicate teenage years when they're going through puberty and everything.
Hope that helps answer your question.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yes, absolutely - i think that's possible.
I've got friends who have been homeschooled for many years and now they are in high school (or secondary school, whatever you call it).
I think above answer is correct, so I haven't deleted it! You have to seriously consider the personality of the child, as some people simply will not adjust. Being homeschooled is so different to being schooled. It doesn't only affect your education, but also your social skills, personality and interact (your not forced to socialise with people).
To make it easier i think you would have to consider the transition and take it nice and slow; whether they are young, old or have a disability.
To start; maybe go to the open day, or chat with the teachers at the school.. enrol in clubs, societies, groups or gym.. this will all help with the transition of heading back to school.
All the best. :)